Extreme poverty forces Lambada couple to give up newborn daughter in Telangana

Hyderabad: A distressing video from Nalgonda district, showing a seven-year-old girl crying and pleading with her parents not to give away her newborn sister, even saying she was willing to work to help raise the baby.

The incident has led to allegations of child trafficking, after it emerged that the Lambada couple had sold the newborn to a couple from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh.

Siasat.com‘s investigation revealed a case of poverty, ignorance and family rivalry that exposed the issue on Monday, October 27, after a video went viral on social media, showing the elder sisters of the newborn crying and pleading with their parents not to give their baby sister away.

According to the police and women and child welfare officials, Parvathi and Korra Babu are landless couple from Yellapuram Thanda village of Tirumalagiri Sagar mandal. They have been married for 10 years.

“Parvathi’s firstborn was a male child, a stillborn. In 2018, the couple migrated to Nalgonda town in search of a livelihood,” Nagamani, an Anganwadi worker of Yellapuram Thanda told Siasat.com.

Babu worked as a daily-wage worker, doing odd jobs in Nalgonda town. The couple led a life of poverty with two daughters.

On October 11, Parvathi gave birth to her third child. Unable to bear the burden of a third daughter, Babu decided to give the newborn away for adoption.

Initially, Babu’s brother, who has two sons, offered to adopt the newborn. But Babu decided otherwise as he thought the child would still be in contact with them and they may gradually develop an attachment towards her. Moreover, his brother was not financially stable and owned only two guntas of land.

The couple were approached by middlemen who told the parents that another couple from Bapatla town in Andhra Pradesh were looking for a girl child to adopt.

The couple were government employees, and hence Parvathi and Babu decided to give their baby girl to them.

“They came with an adoption deed and only after signing, the baby was handed over,” said Parvathi’s brother.

“When the baby was being given away, my brother-in-law recorded us and now the video is everywhere (on social media). He does not want us to live in peace,” she alleged. “Why would I give my baby to a person who would hurl abuses at me? My husband and his brother are not on talking terms,” she said.

Parvathi also claimed they did not receive any money from the Bapatla couple.

Although giving up a child for adoption is legally permitted in cases of extreme poverty, there is a defined procedure that must be followed. Women and Child Welfare officials first conduct multiple counselling sessions to persuade the parents to continue caring for the child. Only if all efforts fail is the child considered for adoption. Even then, the adoption process for prospective parents is lengthy and involves several formalities.

Neither Parvathi nor her husband are aware of the process.

Though there was no case immediately filed against Parvathi or Babu, the latter has been summoned by the women and child welfare officials in Nalgonda

, who also summoned the Bapatla couple to appear before them along with the newborn child by Tuesday morning, October 28.

“My husband is a drunkard, and I have been through four C-sections till now. He fears for his life. If something happens to him, my brother-in-law will be held responsible,” a worried Parvathi told Siasat.com.