A tweet from chief minister Hemant Soren prodded the East Singhbhum district administration into action, leading to the recovery of the month-old baby boy, who was allegedly sold by his poor mother to a childless couple near Tatanagar on Tuesday, and the arrest of the man who acted as a conduit.

The Jugsalai couple, who had taken the infant, turned up at Bagbera police station on Wednesday afternoon after they got to know that a search was underway for the baby.

The couple and the baby’s biological mother have denied the involvement of money.

“We came to know about the incident through media reports and also from the chief minister’s office and immediately constituted a search team. The couple, who had taken the baby, brought it to Bagbera police station on Wednesday. We have directed the child welfare committee (CWC) to rehabilitate the mother and the child and Bagbera police to take action,” East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Ravishankar Shukla said.

According to CWC’s East Singhbhum district chairperson Pushpa Tirkey, the baby’s mother, identified as Gudiya Khan, had been staying on the pavement along Station-Parsudih Road for the last few months.

“The woman in her early 20s, her three-and-a-half-year-old son and the baby had been sleeping on the pavement since her husband deserted her last year,” Tirkey said.

She said railway sweeper Vicky Mukhi came to Gudiya on Tuesday evening along with a couple who offered to adopt her month-old baby. “She gave them her child. She claimed that the boy was not well and she thought that it would be good if he found a home. She did not take any money in return,” Tirkey said.

Deputy superintendent of police (law & order) Alok Ranjan said Vicky had been nabbed.

Gudiya and her children have been admitted to sadar hospital for primary treatment under the supervision of Bagbera police and the CWC.

“We have held talks with a shelter home run by Missionaries of Charity in Baradwari and will be shifting the three there soon,” Tirkey said.