Baby Boy Rescued and Reunited with Biological Mother in Palamu After Controversial Foster Care Case

Daltonganj: A one-month-old baby boy has been returned to his biological mother in Palamu after rescuing the child from his “foster parents” in the early hours of Sunday, after directions from the chief minister in this regard.After learning about the incident, chief minister Hemant Soren posted on X and directed the Palamu DC to investigate the matter and provide all possible assistance to the biological mother and her family members in recovering the child. Palamu DC Sameera S responded, saying that the baby has been rescued and reunited with its parents.The mother, Pinki Devi, is a resident of Lotowa village, under the jurisdiction of Lesliganj (now known as Nilamber Pitamberpur) block. The sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Lesliganj, Manoj Kumar Jha, said, “Police rescued the child from a couple, Lilawati and Yogender Paswan, who are residents of Bahera village under the jurisdiction of the Latehar police station.”Jha also informed that the case was not even remotely related to child trafficking.According to the police, the infant was born on August 9, the day of Raksha Bandhan, to Pinki, but she allegedly sold her son as she already has four children.Ravi Shankar, a member of the district child welfare committee, said, “The biological mother and her husband Ramchander Ram are poor, and Pinki claims that she was unable to breastfeed her newborn properly. Finding it difficult to raise the child, she allegedly sold her son to Lilawati and Yogender Paswan for Rs 50,000.”Police said they are trying to ascertain if more money was involved in “selling” the child by his biological mother to the “foster parents”.A man belonging to the Dalit community allegedly arranged the deal between the couple, who are also from the Dalit community, and Pinki, Shankar added.The officer-in-charge of the Lesliganj police station, Uttam Kumar Rai, said, “As we rescued the child from the couple, they told us that they had no child for many years and decided to buy it. Prima facie evidence indicates it to be a case of the couple trying to raise the child as their own, as the biological mother may have found it hard because of her poverty. She already has four children.” The Lesliganj SDPO also confirmed the development.