Police trace newborn who was sold by his mother for ₹5,000

Pre-mature baby admitted to Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi, for treatment

Vijayapura Police have now traced the one-month-old boy who was said to have been sold by his mother for ₹5,000.

The pre-mature baby has been admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences, Hubballi, for treatment, where it is recovering, the police said.

The police arrested Mohammad Rafiq Hawaldar, a 27-year-old businessman from Devara Hipparagi, who had bought the child. This follows a week-long investigation after a complaint from Sunanda Tolabandi, convenor of the District Child Helpline.

The complaint said that the 25-year-old woman from one of the villages in the district met Kasturi Padasalagi, a nurse in the Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) in Vijayapura and confided in her that she was very poor and was finding it difficult to take care of her two children.

The nurse then suggested that she could help find buyers if the woman was willing to give up her child. The woman went back home only to return to the hospital for getting treatment for the child. The nurse and her husband then approached the woman. She took pictures of the woman and her baby and sent them to a buyer. The buyer came to the hospital and took away the child, after paying ₹5,000 to the woman. The woman accepted the money reluctantly, the complaint said.

A team of officers was formed to trace the baby and arrest the accused.

The nurse and her husband were taken into custody for questioning. However, they were let off.

Based on information gathered, the accused buyer was arrested and the baby rescued. Health Department officers, meanwhile, suspended the nurse.

The police have registered a case under Section 370 of Indian Penal Code.

The accused revealed during interrogation that he had purchased the baby for one of his relatives who was childless, according to the police.