DAVANAGERE: A two-and-a-half-month-old baby was tracked and rescued by the District Child Protection Unit and the women's police station in Davanagere on Wednesday. The child was put up for sale by its mother for Rs 4 Lakhs. The investigation is ongoing.
Police arrested six people including a gynaecologist in connection to this case. The baby, belonging to Kavya, was sold to Jaya and Prashanth Kumar Kurudekar by Dr Bharathi who is working at MK Memorial Hospital through middlemen Vadiraj and Manjamma. The child has been rescued and sent to a government children's home.
During the initial investigation, it was found that the mother had put her child up for sale voluntarily. All accused accepted the crime and were produced before the judge and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Based on a tip-off received through the child helpline, the district child protection unit's team led by TN Kavitha swung into action. The team visited the house of Jaya and Prashanth in Vinobhanagar and secured the birth certificate of the child; the certificate registered the birth of the child at MK Memorial Hospital.
During a visit to the hospital, the team discovered illegal sale of the child. According to the investigation findings, Kavya, a divorcee, gave birth to a male child recently but decided to give it away as she couldn't take care of the baby. Jaya and Prashanth, a couple married of seven years, decided to purchase the baby for Rs 4 Lakhs. The couple made the deal through a middleman -- Vadiraj -- who was closely connected with the hospital staff, Dr Bharathi and Manjula. The three issued a fake birth certificate for the child and registered its birth on August 26 at the Davanagere city corporation.
Based on the complaint lodged by the district child protection unit, a case has been registered under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, Child Protection Act 2004 and BNSS, said SP Uma Prashanth.