In a shocking incident, a couple shold their five-day-old son to a childless couple for Rs 1.10 lakh in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Police arrested six persons, including parents, for allegedly selling the infant, officials said on Tuesday.
The operation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Squad (AHTS) brought to light the disturbing case of illegal child trafficking involving not just the seller and the buyer but also two others who mediated the transaction. The accused parents allegedly sold their newborn to the childless couple who were eager to adopt but circumvented the legal adoption process.
The arrested accused are identified as Sunil alias Bhondu Dayaram Gendre (31) and his wife Shweta (27), and the childless couple as Pournima Shelke (32) and her husband Snehdeep Dharamdas Shelke (45), both residents of Badlapur in Thane district, police said. The two mediators are identified as Kiran Ingle (41) and her husband Pramod Ingle (45), residents of Nagpur, they said.
Prima facie, the Gendres were driven by financial desperation to sell the infant. According to police, Sunil and Shweta Gendre sold their newborn son to the Shelke couple through Kiran and Pramod Ingle, on August 22.
The Shelke couple, who are relatives of Kiran Ingle, allegedly paid Rs 1.10 lakh for the child and took him to their home bypassing the legal procedures required for child adoption, police said.
Upon receiving the information, the AHTS arrested all six individuals and registered a case under sections 75 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act at Kalamna police station in Nagpur.
The infant has been temporarily placed in the care of a local orphanage, the officials said.
(With PTI inputs)
