Father of a 30-day baby boy, N. Appa Rao, who was arrested by Governorpet police on charges of selling an infant, allegedly sold another boy earlier.
Appa Rao, along with two others — Ramakrishna (RMP) and Sai Babu — who were allegedly involved in the illegal deal, were arrested and produced in a court on Thursday, said Governorpet Circle Inspector K. Mahindra.
According to sources, Appa Rao, a native of Guntur district, migrated to the city a few years ago, and was staying on the pavement at Governorpet, near the city civil court. He was a petty vendor.
On August 20, his wife Adi Lakshmi delivered a male baby and since then Appa Rao had allegedly been trying to sell the boy. On September 16, a deal was allegedly struck to sell the infant for Rs. 40,000 to Sai Babu through the RMP.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, District Child Protection Officer Ch. Vijay Kumar said Appa Rao had six children and he allegedly sold one boy earlier and that they were inquiring into the matter. “The details of two children were not known,” the DCPO said. Meanwhile, Women Development and Child Welfare Krishna District Project Director K. Krishna Kumari said that two children of Adi Lakshmi would be admitted in the Children’s Home, run by the government. “The infant, which was sold away, was recovered and sent to ‘Sishu Gruha’, located in Machilipatnam, for protection,” Ms. Krishna Kumari said.
