Mother among 3 held for selling baby girl in Coimbatore
The couple, who already has a three-year-old son, was reeling under poverty, said officials
Representative Image (File)
COIMBATORE: A mother was arrested by Coimbatore rural police on Monday along with two other women for attempting to sell her girl baby for Rs one lakh to a childless couple.
Police said Nandini (22), wife of Athi Ganesh (25), a labourer in a textile firm and residing at Chinnakannan Pudur near Perianaickenpalayam had delivered a girl baby at Mettupalayam Government Hospital on August 14 . The couple already has a three-year-old boy.
As the couple was reeling under poverty, they volunteered to sell off their girl baby. Police said Devika (42) from Satya Nagar in Kasturipalayam approached the young mother with an offer to sell the newborn to a childless couple from Kavundampalayam in Gudalur.
“The mother sold her baby for Rs 1 lakh to the couple Maheshwaran and Anitha. Devika took a commission from both Nandini and Anitha for brokering the deal,” police said.
Acting on information from child helpline authorities, the AWPS police in Perianaickenpalayam registered a case and arrested the three women, Nandini, Anitha and Devika, while the baby was also rescued. A detailed inquiry is underway to know if Devika had trafficked and sold any other babies.
A month ago, the Coimbatore rural police busted an interstate baby-selling racket with the arrest of a six-member gang including a couple from Bihar. They sold a baby girl from Bihar to a farmer from Sulur near Coimbatore for Rs 2.5 lakh and a boy to a truck driver in Andhra Pradesh.