A case that led to the uncovering of a baby sale racket came to an end on Friday with the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ensuring a safe haven for the victim, a 15-month-old male child, and ordering prosecution of his biological parents, who were found to be part of a gang involved in the crime.
Disposing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the biological father K. Balamurugan of Palani in Dindigul district, a Division Bench of Justices M. Jaichandren and S. Nagamuthu recorded an undertaking given by the petitioner and his female partner to give the child in adoption legally to an Erode-based couple who had his custody for more than a year.
At the same time, the judges directed the Dindigul Superintendent of Police to appoint a competent officer to conduct a thorough investigation of how the baby, born in Dindigul, changed hands until he landed in Erode.
The other direction was to prosecute the culprits under the charges of child trafficking, impersonation, forgery and other offences. The judges directed the SP as well as Dindigul Collector to keep a check on child trafficking.
They also expressed shock over the alleged involvement of three women child brokers, a Siddha practitioner and two advocates in the crime and directed the SP to abide by an undertaking given by him in the court to initiate disciplinary action against an Inspector and Sub-Inspector of Police for their failure to take action when the issue came to their notice in November 2011.
