“Will humans now have to buy and sell humans to stay alive in our country?” asks Priyanka

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday, 8 September said the incident in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar of a man allegedly compelled to "sell" his son for hospital fees was heart-wrenching and wondered whether humans will now have to "buy and sell" others to stay alive in the country.

The man, Harish Patel, agreed to "sell" his three-year-old son under a fraudulent adoption deed for a few thousand rupees on Friday, 7 September to secure his wife and newborn child's "release" from a private hospital after he was unable to pay its fee, officials had said.

The incident sparked outrage and after the police were informed, they arrested five people on Saturday including a couple who took the child.

"The incident of a man selling his child due to poverty in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. Harish Patel admitted his pregnant wife Lakshmina to a hospital. She gave birth to a daughter. The hospital asked for 4,000 rupees for treatment. Harish did not have the money. The hospital refused to release the mother and child," she said.

"Forced to bring his wife and newborn baby home, Harish Patel sold one of his sons for Rs 20,000. The person who bought the child got the stamp made in the tehsil and the police also took a bribe of Rs 5,000 from him," Priyanka Gandhi said in her post in Hindi on X.

The government machinery was also a "partner in this act that shamed humanity", she alleged.

The Congress leader claimed that Harish's family already has loans from many micro-finance companies which they are unable to repay and many poor families like his have been trapped by these companies which charge 30 to 40 per cent interest.

"Where are the government schemes? Where is the health department? For whom is the government running? Will humans now have to buy and sell others to stay alive in our country?" Priyanka Gandhi said.

Harish Patel, a resident of Barwa Patti, had sought medical care at the hospital for his wife's delivery, police said. According to locals, it was the sixth child of Patel, who is a daily wager.

However, when he was unable to immediately pay the hospital fee, the mother and the newborn were not allowed to leave by the hospital staff.

In his desperation, the father agreed to the fraudulent adoption deed, the police said.

Upon learning of the incident, police launched an investigation and arrested five individuals involved in the crime including the alleged middleman Amresh Yadav, the "adoptive parents" Bhola Yadav and his wife Kalawati, a fake doctor Tara Kushwaha, and a helper at the hospital Suganti, Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Mishra said.

A police constable, who allegedly failed to take action in the case, has also been taken off active duty and sent to police lines by the SP. "

The child was safely rescued and returned to his parents," the officer had said.