BOUDH: A boy who went missing as an infant seven years back was rescued in Manamunda area of Boudh district, leaving the local administration and police perplexed. The mystery over the matter deepened as ‘parents’ of the rescued boy are now untraceable.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) played a crucial role in rescuing the child, who had disappeared from the possession of his mentally-challenged mother in 2016. A complaint with Manmunda police was registered by CWC after the news spread. Despite extensive efforts, the child remained untraceable for nearly seven years.
In a surprising turn of events, the police located the boy from the house of a relative of a staff nurse, Basanti Sahoo, from Manamunda health centre as a part of investigation. It is suspected that Sahoo had taken the boy and entrusted her sister with his care.
This came to the fore after a recent fight between Sahoo and her husband, Rajiv Naik, who subsequently reported the missing child to the CWC. Prompt action by the police led to the rescue of the child from Basanti’s sister’s house.Chairman of Boudh CWC Damodar Sahu confirmed that police are searching for nurse Sahoo who is reportedly absconding.
The investigation aims to determine the connection between this case and the one filed by the CWC in 2016. Efforts will be made to trace the real parents of the child, and if found, a biological test will be conducted, he added.The child is currently in the care of a child care institution until further steps are taken in accordance with government guidelines, Sahu stated.