Anganwadi worker forced to flee village

PARADIP: The aganwadi worker, Nirupama Nayak, who thwarted an attempt  to sell a child on Wednesday, left the village with her two children after being threatened by some villagers the same night.Nayak alleged that some villagers misbehaved and assaulted her on Wednesday night in the presence of district-level officials even as an inquiry was on into the issue.The villagers had threatened to ostracise her and on Friday forced closure of the anganwadi centre by threatening the centre’s helper, Minati Swain. Nayak had prevented one Jhunulata, a poverty-stricken divorcee of Gobindpur village under Biridi police limits, from selling her baby girl for Rs 1,000 to one person from Cuttack.On learning about the alleged sale, Nayak telephoned the unidentified buyer and asked him to return the child to her mother failing which he would have to face police action. Nayak made the phone call after the Child Development Project Officer, Sandhyarani Devi, asked her to rescue the infant.Frightened, the buyer returned the infant. Though the mother-child was given some benefits under the government schemes, Nayak continued to face the villagers’ ire for bringing bad name to the village. The Biridi BDO Santosh Mishra said stern action will be initiated against the villagers who misbehaved and assaulted Nayak.