Ludhiana: Unhappy with the birth of her fifth daughter, a migrant woman sold her for Rs 2.1 lakh.
Punjab: The Ludhiana police claim to have busted a child trafficking racket, arresting five women, including the mother of a newborn who allegedly sold the two-day-old baby girl for Rs 2.1 lakh.
The child was born on February 13 at a private hospital in Ludhiana to Sunita Devi, a migrant from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, who lives in the Sherpur Kalan area of the city. Already a mother to four daughters, Sunita reportedly became distressed on learning that she had given birth to another girl.
Additional DCP Sameer Verma said the woman allegedly told the police that she would have kept the child if a boy was born. “After learning the baby was a girl, Sunita approached a hospital nurse, who contacted BAMS doctor Manmeet Kaur. The doctor then informed her friend Ruchi, who reached out to Mandeep Kaur of Nangal village in Moga district. Mandeep, who had been childless for years after marriage, expressed interest in taking the baby,” said Verma.
The police said the group finalised the illegal sale of the child for Rs 2.1 lakh, of which around Rs 60,000 was to go to the mother and the rest was to be distributed as commission among the intermediaries. The money was reportedly transferred to the doctor’s bank account.
On the afternoon of February 15, the women allegedly gathered at a park on Neela Jhanda Road to hand over the infant. However, those present at the spot grew suspicious when the woman holding the baby struggled to calm the crying newborn. They alerted the police, who reached the spot and uncovered the alleged trafficking attempt.
The police have arrested five persons, including mother Sunita Devi, Parveen of Khud Mohalla, Manmeet Kaur (BAMS doctor) of Punjab Mata Nagar, Ruchi of Daba Road and Mandeep Kaur of Moga.
Additional DCP Verma said the police suspected that up to seven women, including an ASHA worker, may be part of the racket. The police official said an investigation was underway to determine if similar incidents had occurred before. The role of doctors at the hospital where the delivery took place was also under investigation, said the police.
The mother-daughter duo were produced in court, which sent them to one-day police custody. As the child is only a few days old and cannot be separated from her mother, she has been kept in the police lockup.
