Instances of sale of babies is going unabated in the State capital, as the Hyderabad police apprehended one more couple bartering away their newborn for a paltry ₹ 23,000.
On Wednesday evening, local vendors in Ameerpet caught K. Bhajan Singh and Sujatha while they were trying to sell their 25-day-old girl to a woman and alerted the police, who in turn rushed to the spot and rescued the baby.
Punjagutta ACP Vijay Kumar said that the couple, natives of Bakkalingaiahpally thanda in Achampet mandal of Nagarkurnool district, came to Hyderabad to sell the infant to a woman, identified as J. Laxmi, who was supposed to further hand over the infant to an agent Bharat Kumar. The newborn was the third girl child born to the couple.
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He said that Laxmi fixed a deal with Bharat Kumar for ₹ 50,000 and gave ₹ 23,000 to the couple. Bharat Kumar, in turn, would sell the baby to an issueless couple.
The couple told police that they were unable to bring up the child as they could not earn enough and so decided to give away the girl for adoption. “We did not sell our girl, we just asked Laxmi to look for a person who can adopt and take care of her,” said Bhajan Singh. “My wife took money from her, I was not aware of the cash transaction,” he said.
The police arrested the couple along with Laxmi, Bharat Kumar and handed over the girl to Child Welfare Department for custody pending counselling of the parents.
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