VIJAYAPURA: A week after a complaint was registered against a staff nurse of Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) for allegedly selling off a one-month-old male baby, the district police have succeeded in tracing him.
After alerting all paediatric hospitals, the investigation team traced the infant at Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Karnataka Institute of Medical Science (KIMS) Hospital in Hubballi. The premature and underweight baby is under treatment and will be in the hospital for another two weeks, according to the police.
The police have arrested 27-year-old businessman Mohammed Rafiq Hawaldar, who is a resident of Devara Hipparagi, in the case.
According to the police, “The accused has two children. He overheard a conversation of a 25-year-old mother, who gave birth to the infant, and staff nurse Kasturi Padasalagi when he was in the Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) for the treatment of his son. He approached and ‘purchased’ the infant from the mother directly by paying Rs 6,000.” “In the interrogation, he revealed that he bought the baby as one of his relatives was issueless even several years of marriage. As the baby was prematurely born, he admitted it to KIMS hospital,” said an inspector.
The baby was born on August 19 and the mother allegedly sold him to a stranger with the help of the staff nurse. As soon as it came to the notice of Child Helpline -1098 – they filed a complaint against the nurse on September 12.