Couple sells infant son for Rs 1.10 lakh in Nagpur; six held

Nagpur: Nagpur Police arrested six persons, including parents of a five-day-old son for allegedly selling him to a childless couple for Rs 1.10 lakh, officials said on Tuesday.

The operation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Squad (AHTS) has brought to light a disturbing case of illegal child trafficking involving not just the seller and the buyer but also two others who mediated the transaction, they said.

The accused parents allegedly sold their newborn to the childless couple who were eager to adopt but circumvented the legal adoption process. In addition to the biological parents, the police also apprehended the couple who purchased the baby and the two mediators who facilitated the deal.

The arrested accused are identified as Sunil alias Bhondu Dayaram Gendre (31) and his wife Shweta (27), and the childless couple as Pournima Shelke (32) and her husband Snehdeep Dharamdas Shelke (45), both residents of Badlapur in Thane district, police said.

The two mediators are identified as Kiran Ingle (41) and her husband Pramod Ingle (45), residents of Nagpur, they said.

Prima facie, the Gendres were driven by financial desperation to sell the infant.

According to police, Sunil and Shweta Gendre sold their newborn son to the Shelke couple through Kiran and Pramod Ingle, on August 22.

The Shelke couple, who are relatives of Kiran Ingle, allegedly paid Rs 1.10 lakh for the child and took him to their home bypassing the legal procedures required for child adoption, police said.

Upon receiving the information, the AHTS arrested all six individuals and registered a case under sections 75 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act at Kalamna police station in Nagpur.

The infant has been temporarily placed in the care of a local orphanage, the officials said.