Seven persons, including a married couple from Karnataka's Dharwad district, have been detained by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at the Margao railway station for allegedly trying to sell a seven-month-old baby boy for Rs. 3 lakh to a client in Goa.
According to RPF inspector Vinod Mishra, the plot to sell the baby boy was discovered after the couple and three 'agents', all of them women, were heard arguing loudly at the Margao railway station on Monday. The baby was being sold to a couple based near the state capital of Panaji.
“The Panaji-based couple had come to Margao railway station to buy this baby and a couple from Dharwad, who wanted to sell their first baby, had also come here (Margao railway station)," Mishra said.
"They were having an argument with each other, which was noticed by our staff and they were taken to our office. After interrogating them the matter was clear that they were trying to sell the baby. The three mediators involved have also been also detained,” Mishra said.
The official said that the couple from Dharwad were labourers, who were selling the baby because they needed money.
"The couple who were keen on buying the baby boy already had two children of their own," Mishra also said.
So far only the father of the baby boy has been arrested by the Goa Police, after a formal First Information Report was filed by the RPF official.
Published 23 January 2023, 19:20 IST