Balasore (Odisha) Dec 29 (PTI) A couple in Odisha's Balasore district allegedly sold their newborn boy to a childless couple in neighbouring Mayurbhanj district, police said on Sunday.

The matter came to light when locals could not find the nine-day-old baby in the home of Dharmu Behera and his wife Shantilata in Hadamouda village under the Basta Police Station limits, an officer said.

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On December 19, Shantilata gave birth to a baby boy at Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada and she was discharged three days later.

When villagers did not find the newborn in their home, they suspected that the couple sold the baby through a middleman due to "poverty", the officer said.

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Based on a complaint, a joint investigation was initiated by the police and the Child Welfare Committee, Mayurbhanj.

The baby was rescued on Saturday from the possession of a childless couple in Manicha village under the Sainkola block in Mayurbhanj district, he said.

Both Shantilata and the family from where the baby was rescued denied the allegation of any sale or purchase of the newborn.

Shantilata and Dharmu claimed to have donated the baby to the childless couple.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)