Newborn Sold For $420 By Grandmother Because She Was Born Out Of Wedlock

A woman was arrested for selling her newborn granddaughter to a couple for $420 because the baby was born out of wedlock. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

According to local reports, the child’s unidentified mother had an affair with a family friend and got pregnant. The man, however, refused to marry her and demanded that she aborts the fetus. The woman didn’t comply and gave birth to a baby girl in mid-November. This angered her family and the newborn’s unidentified grandmother decided to sell the child. The grandmother sold the newborn to a couple with the help of five others. All the six were arrested in connection with the case Monday after the newborn’s mother filed a police complaint.

The newborn’s mother informed police that she was told by the medical staff at the hospital that the newborn had died. A nurse, however, informed her the newborn was actually sold to someone.

“She learned through a sympathetic nurse that the baby had survived and that it had been sold. Consequently, she approached the police,” said Bindya Yohannan, a counselor for the police commissioner’s office.

Meanwhile, police managed to find the child and return the baby to her mother.

Since the woman was disowned by her family, Yohannan confirmed that they “will provide shelter, counseling and postnatal care for the pair for the next six months, following which we will also look into securing employment for her.”