Man exchanges baby to pay for wife's funeral

An Indian man "mortgaged" his baby son to pay for his wife's cremation after she died giving birth, reports said today.

Bipin Gagarai of the southeast state of Orissa said he "mortgaged'' his son for 1,200 rupees ($31) because he did not have enough money to pay for the funeral.

"As he had no money to transport the body to his village and undertake funeral expenses, he handed over the baby to a childless couple who paid him 1,200 rupees,'' the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

But district official Shivaji Bhuyan said Mr Gagarai had promised he would reclaim the infant once he had earned enough money to pay back the debt.

This "cannot be construed as a case of child sale'', PTI quoted Mr Bhuyan as saying.

However, the United News of India news agency said Mr Gagarai, who has two more children, "sold'' the newborn after his wife's death.

Officials said they had taken Gagarai's three-year-old daughter into protective custody as a precaution.