Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Monday expressed concern over an incident in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, where a man was allegedly forced to sell his son to clear the hospital bill.
She questioned whether survival in the country would now require “buying and selling” people.
Taking to social media platform X, Priyanka Gandhi wrote, “The incident of a person being compelled to sell his child due to poverty in Kushinagar is heartbreaking. Harish Patel admitted his pregnant wife Laxmina to a hospital, where she gave birth to a daughter. The hospital demanded Rs 4,000 for treatment, which Harish could not afford. Consequently, the hospital refused to discharge the mother and child.”
She continued, “Desperate to bring his wife and newborn home, Harish Patel sold one of his sons for Rs 20,000. The person who bought the child had the transaction formalised with a stamp at the tehsil, and the police also accepted a bribe of Rs 5,000. This shows that the government machinery was complicit in this inhumane act.”
Priyanka Gandhi also criticised the government’s failure to address the issue, saying, “Harish’s family is already burdened with loans from numerous microfinance companies, which charge exorbitant interest rates of 30 to 40 per cent. Where are the government schemes? Where is the health department? Who is the government serving? Will people now have to buy and sell other humans to survive in our country?”
Officials confirmed that Harish Patel had admitted his wife to a private hospital for delivery but was unable to clear the bill.
To secure their discharge, Patel agreed to sell his son under a fraudulent child adoption agreement.
This incident led to public outrage, and on Saturday, the police arrested five individuals, including a couple who had taken the child.
Priyanka also criticised the Uttar Pradesh Police, accusing them of turning law and order into a “joke”.
In a Facebook post, she alleged that torturing the innocent and protecting criminals had become the “basic mantra” of the administration in Uttar Pradesh.
She highlighted another case from Rae Bareli, where a public facility centre operator named Ravi Chaurasia was robbed of Rs 8 lakh.
The robbers left the bag behind, which was found by a businessman named Deepu.
When Deepu tried to deposit the bag at the police station, he was jailed instead. The situation only improved after public protests, leading to the investigation being transferred to another police station.
Deepu was ultimately granted bail, but Priyanka Gandhi condemned the police’s handling of the case, stating: “Torturing the innocent and protecting criminals — this has become the basic mantra for the administration in Uttar Pradesh.”
