Dad Sells Newborn For $1,000 To Pay Off Debts

A man in India was arrested after he sold his baby to repay a debt of $1,000.

Police took the accused, identified as 42-year-old Abdul Salam, into custody Monday after his wife, 34-year-old Kairunisha, filed a complaint against him saying he had sold their two-month-old child.

She told the cops that she and her husband stayed with their five children in Trichy, a city in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Her husband was jobless and had gambled away all his savings, Times Now News reported.

Last week, Salam got in touch with a man named Arockiyaraj, who suggested he sell his newborn.

"Through Arockiyaraj, he sold his child to one Santhanakumar (45) and got around Rs 80,000 in multiple installments. Santhanakumar and his wife Latha wanted to adopt a male child as they lost their 15-year-old son in an accident. Abdul spent the entire amount he received in gambling and by drinking," a police officer told local daily The Indian Express.

"On January 19, he convinced his wife to give their child to Santhanakumar. She had apparently agreed given their financial condition but was unaware that her husband had already taken money from Santhanakumar."

Four days later, Kairunisha asked her husband to bring back their baby as she was unable to live without him. After he denied his wife's request, she filed a police complaint and appealed for her son to be brought back.

Following a probe, Salam was taken into custody along with Santhanakumar and Arockiyaraj and booked under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police found Kairunisha had signed an adoption deed in the presence of her husband, Arockiyaraj, and the couple who adopted the newborn.

"Adoption cannot be done that way. There is a legal procedure. It should be done either through a court or the district collector and the people apparently were unaware of the procedure," the officer told the outlet.

The incident comes days after a woman and her three accomplices in India’s capital New Delhi were taken into custody for allegedly trying to sell her one-month-old baby for $26,764.