MANGALURU: Mangaluru city police have arrested a human trafficker in Mulki near Mangaluru and rescued a five-month-old girl child that he had allegedly sold to a woman.
The accused Ryon alias Riona, 30, who runs chicken and fancy stores in Mulki, had bought the infant from her parents in Hassan for Rs 3 lakh and sold it to a woman identified as Kavita of Karkala taluk in Udupi district.
The incident came to light when someone alerted Mysuru-based NGO Odanadi about the human trafficker in Mangaluru. The NGO subsequently approached him in the guise of a prospective adoptive parent. The child has now been handed over to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
Police commissioner N Shashikumar told reporters that according to telephonic conversations between the accused and Odanadi staff, he had trafficked several newborns not just within the state but also outside the state and to Gulf countries. He had a price tag of Rs 6 lakh for a male child and Rs 4 lakh for a female child. The buyer had to make an advance of Rs 1.5 lakh and within 15 to 30 days, he would hand over the baby.
“Even during the police investigation, the accused maintained that he had trafficked several babies and used to make a profit of Rs 2-3 lakh out of every deal but there were gaps in his statement,” said the top cop.
After the Odanadi staff sealed the deal, he was asked to come to an eatery near Kadri Park where the Mangaluru South Police Station PSI Shettal arrested him. The commissioner also said they suspect Kavita was planning to sell the baby to someone else after receiving it from Ryon and they are investigating it. The accused have been booked under section 370 of the IPC (human trafficking).
Siddanth P, a social worker with Odanadi Seva Samsthe, said he has a strong suspicion that some government officials are involved in the human trafficking as the accused was also promising the birth certificate and Mother and Child Protection Card to the prospective parents.