TIRUCHY: Eight persons, including six women, were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly selling two newborns. The arrested included a woman sanitation worker of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH).
The babies were rescued two days ago and sent to a home run by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) along with their mothers after officials received a tip-off.
The case is being handled by the anti-child trafficking unit of Tiruchy.
Ashwini (27) and Govindhan (32) of Thiruverambur had bought a seven-day-old baby born to Bhuvaneshwari (42) through MGMGH sanitation worker Vennila (42) and her aide Luthmary (55) four months ago. The couple had paid `1 lakh for the baby. Earlier, it was said the baby was sold for `3.07 lakh.
“The baby was born to Bhuvaneshwari outside wedlock. As she could not take care of the baby, she approached Vennila who in turn told the couple a baby was available at a price. The couple was looking for a baby boy. Vennila persuaded them through Luthmary, the couple’s neighbour, and sold the baby. The sanitation worker took Rs 94,000 and handed Rs 6,000 to the biological mother,” said a police official.
In the second case, a 24-day-old boy, the son of Rani (27) and Dharmaraj (30) from Kuvalakudi, was sold to another couple - Kumar (30) and Saradha (27) - of Thuraiyur. “The incident came to light when hospital staff found the biological mother did not have the child with her. When we investigated, it was found she had sold the baby for Rs 7,000. The couple was daily laborers and had two children. As the couple knew each other, they paid only for the expenses for delivery,” said the officer.
All eight accused were charged under Section 370 (4) (Buying or disposing of any person as a slave), Section 317 (Exposure and Abandonment of Child under 12 years) of the IPC and Section 80 (Punishment for cruelty to child) and Section 81 (Sale and procurement of Children for any purpose) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Govindan is absconding.