Ludhiana, Punjab, May 7 : Police in Ludhiana on Monday arrested the buyer of a newborn baby sold through the social networking site ‘Facebook' by his grandfather, after telling his daughter her child was stillborn.
The buyer has been identified as Amit, a Delhi based businessman.
Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana, Satish Malhotra said they had been tracking the buyer through their network since the incident was reported.
“Recently, there was a news that a grandfather had sold his grandson on the Facebook to a Delhi based businessman. We have arrested the child's grandfather Firoz Khan, his friend Imran Khan, the hospital assistant Gurpreet Singh and a nurse Sunita", the SP said.
"Amit, who is a Delhi based businessman was hiding since the last few days. He came to Ludhiana to bail out a person and as we had already put a surveillance on his phone, he was arrested and presently he is on remand", said Malhotra
The new-born baby was reportedly sold via social media website Facebook for $15,000, after his grandfather told his daughter she had given birth to a stillborn child, Indian authorities say.
The incident took place on April 10 in Basti Jodhewal on the outskirts of Ludhiana.
The grandfather, Firoz Khan, is believed to have sold the baby to a hospital nurse and a fellow employee for $850, who in turn sold the infant to a middleman for $6,450.
The middleman who then put the baby's picture on Facebook apparently struck a deal with a New Delhi-based businessman for a sum of $15,000.
Twenty-year-old Noori Khan complained her baby had gone missing after suspecting her father's sudden new wealth, according to media reports.
A police investigation found that the infant had been sold to a couple in New Delhi.
“During our interrogation, we found that he (Amit) has paid Rs 70,000 to the grandfather of the child while they has asked for Rs 2 lakh,” said Malhotra.
Noori Khan, who is still recuperating, said while she had been led to believe by her father that her baby was stillborn, a doubt lingered in her mind.
The grandfather reportedly told authorities he wanted to get his daughter married for a second time after she was abandoned by her husband, but it would have been difficult for her if she had a baby.
