Mother, three others arrested for selling infant

Since the AP officials found the child was trafficked from Chennai, it was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee, North Chennai.
(Image for representational purposes)
(Image for representational purposes)

CHENNAI: Two months after a 10-month old child was rescued from Andhra Pradesh, Red Hills police arrested four persons, including the mother of the child, for illegally selling the child to a family in the neighbouring State.

The case, which has yet again highlighted how child selling rackets are active in the city, came to light in November when Child Welfare Committee officials rescued the child from P Navaneetham (69) and her son P Srinivasan (47), residents of Tirupati.

Since the AP officials found the child was trafficked from Chennai, it was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee, North Chennai. The investigations identified the mother as M Vijayalakshmi (36) of Kannagi Nagar and contacted her.

On Tuesday, Vijayalakshmi approached the CWC office in Royapuram and demanded her baby back. Meanwhile, Srinivasan also visited the office and asked his mother be exempt from the case. However, both were arrested.

Police said Vijayalakshmi told them she was forced to sell the child because her current partner does not want the child. She has been separated from her husband. “Before her delivery in Egmore Government Hospital, Vijayalakshmi met Sivagami, who had got her in touch with Thangam from Red Hills. Thangam through her contacts found that Navaneetham was in need of a baby for her son,” said N Lalitha, a CWC member.

Thangam and other brokers allegedly sold the baby for Rs 3 lakh and gave Rs 85,000 to Vijayalakshmi. After receiving the baby from Vijayalakshmi, Thangam delivered the baby to Srinivasan near Red Hills, police said. “Agents like this have contacts in fertility clinics, abortion centres and illegal delivery clinics. During interrogation, Thangam said they target girls from lower income families who might become pregnant due to informal relationships. Instead of going to the police to find the perpetrator, the agents convinced them sell the babies,” said Lalitha.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com