Doctor, 3 Others Arrested For Trying To Sell 8-Month-Old Baby To Childless Couple

A doctor and three others were taken into custody after they were caught red-handed trying to sell an 8-month-old girl to a childless couple for 5 lakh INR ($6,900).

The police in India’s financial capital Mumbai received a tip-off saying that the accused were planning to meet the childless couple, identified as 40-year-old Sonjit Mondal and his wife 37-year-old Manju, at the bus stand, following which the officers arrived at the scene.

A senior police officer said a couple arrived with the infant at a juice stall near the bus depot "in a bid to sell the child."

"A police constable found their movement suspicious and when he questioned them, they gave flimsy answers. The couple later revealed that they were there to sell the child to a couple for ₹ 5 lakh ($6,900)," the officer told local daily the Hindustan Times.

Later, the officers arrested two other accused, including the doctor identified as 48-year-old Jiten Bala. It wasn’t clear if the couple who arrived at the bus stand with the baby were the infant’s parents.

"Later, we arrested the other two accused and all four were charged under section 370(1) (knowingly or having reason to believe that a minor for engaging in sexual exploitation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015. They were remanded in police custody till February 16," the officer added.

The infant has been rescued and is currently safe at a child care center.

The incident comes months after a woman in the east Indian city of Jamshedpur was arrested for trying to sell her newborn baby to a man. Police received a tip saying, a woman was waiting at a gas station with an infant. Officers arrived at the scene and caught the woman trying to sell the newborn to a man. During interrogation, the woman said that she lost her job and her husband too had died due to which she had no money to look after the newborn. She said she had no option but to sell the baby for $1.3. The woman and the baby were handed over to an NGO.