LUCKNOW: The desire of having a son landed an engineer of UP Power Department in jail in Kanpur as he struck a deal of Rs 5 with a government nurse for arranging a baby for him. He hails from Kanpur and already has two 11-year-old daughters.
The alleged deal came to light when the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) was arrested for trying to steal a newborn from a Community Health Centre (CHC).
As per the Police authorities, the link between the ANM and the power engineer was established by examining ANM Geeta Devi’s call records, which reflected that engineer Ram Kumar Verma, 40, had been in regular contact with her leading up to her arrest.
Verma’s phone location was also spotted near the CHC in Ghatampur, Kanpur Dehat, at the time hospital staff caught Geeta Devi allegedly attempting to take away the newborn.
Following the discovery, police went back to question Geeta inside jail.
"She broke down and admitted the crime, disclosing that Verma had promised to pay her Rs 5 lakh if she could arrange a baby boy for him," said Manoj Singh Bhadauria, Station House Officer (SHO) of Ghatampur police station.
Police subsequently traced Verma, posted as a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) at the electricity sub-station in Maudaha, Hamirpur, for the past six months.
SHO Bhadauria said that the engineer admitted to the crime during questioning and he was arrested. Later, Verma was produced before the court and was sent to judicial custody.
According to police, Verma confessed that he first came into contact with Geeta a few years ago while being posted in Kanpur Dehat. The two remained in contact.
Police said around 9 pm on May 10, Geeta took a newborn baby from the Ghatampur CHC and attempted to walk out undetected but was caught by the CHC staff before she could get away. The CHC staff informed the local police station, and Geeta was taken into custody.
Subsequently, Geeta Devi was booked on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking and criminal conspiracy at the Ghatampur police station.
Initially, during the interrogation, Geeta Devi, as per police sources, did not reveal the details of the deal with Verma and owned up the crime herself.