A destitute Bihar woman who went missing after selling her child to a Nepalese couple for Rs.62 has been finally traced - still starving along with her other two kids and ailing husband
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In a sad story of hunger amid plenty, Shannu Khatun, in her mid-30s, was found wandering near her house in Madanpur village in Araria district.
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"She and her children were very hungry and in a bad condition when policemen spotted them," Araria Superintendent of Police Shivdeep W. Lande told IANS.
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When policemen took Shannu Khatun and her two children to her house in the village, they found her physically challenged husband Mohammad Shaheed on a cot. He too was "very hungry" and asked for food.
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Lande, who had ordered a search for the woman, said police offered them food and milk.
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Forced by poverty, Shannu Khatun sold her four-month-old son to a Nepalese couple at the Forbesganj railway station near the India-Nepal border, some 350 km from here, last week.
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The "sale" -- amid stories of Bihar's economic recovery -- created a stir in the state.
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Lande said the woman has been shifted to a "short stay home".
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Several voluntary groups in India and abroad have offered to support the woman and her family.
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"I was upset after Shannu Khatun disappeared when news of her plight hit the headlines," the police officer said.
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An Araria district official, Gopal Prasad, said police had handed over the family to the administration for their rehabilitation.
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"For the time being, she and her children will be in a short stay home and will be provided food," Prasad said.
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She would also get a house under the Indira Awas Yojna, he added. "Now she will get the benefits of government welfare schemes."
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