TIRUCHY: Two days after the Madras High Court ordered the Lalgudi police in Tiruchy district to bring out the truth in a baby sale racket and find out if a three-month-old baby is alive, three people, including an advocate, were arrested on Saturday and the mother of the newborn has been taken into police custody. Anitha, a suspected broker in the deal, is also under investigation, police said.
According to Tiruchy SP Sujith Kumar, R Janaki (32) of Lalgudi was in a relationship with two people and got pregnant. During her seventh month of pregnancy, she approached Prabhu, an advocate in Lalgudi, and his wife Shanmugavalli (38) for aborting the baby. But the three later decided against going for an abortion and decided to sell the baby. After the woman gave birth to a girl last September, she gave the newborn to the lawyer and his wife for sale as per their deal.
Police said Prabhu sold the baby for Rs 3.5 lakh but told Janaki that he had sold the baby for Rs 1 lakh and gave Rs 80,000 to her as part of her share. After a month, Janaki came to know that she was cheated by Prabhu. She asked the advocate to pay her the rest of the money but he refused. Janaki approached the Tiruchy SP and filed a complaint.
Sujith Kumar said, “When the woman came to the police station the first time she said she had given birth to a baby through an illicit relationship and her family was not ready to take care of the baby. She said she gave the baby to an advocate’s family. But later when she asked them to give the baby back, they refused and she wanted to file a complaint against the family.”
After she approached the SP again, a case was registered against the advocate for kidnapping, and under the Juvenile Justice Act. The advocate approached the HC seeking anticipatory bail. During the bail hearings, the woman gave contradictory answers, police said.
Kumar said the woman told the court she was not ready to file a complaint but police forced her to file one. “In subsequent hearings, the woman said the baby was in her possession. The HC ordered her to produce the baby before the court in the next hearing.”
When she failed to produce the baby before the court, the HC on Thursday ordered a probe and if required, to remand her. Based on the HC’s order to DSP Ajay Thangam, Prabhu, his wife, and Akash, a car driver were arrested. Kumar added probe showed it was a baby selling racket and the newborn has changed many hands.A person in Namakkal was questioned over links in the case and a probe is on to find out if the baby is alive, police said.