Newly born kid was sold for Rs 1.10 lakh, police arrest six for child trafficking

Senior Correspondent

NewsBits.in

MUMBAI/ NAGPUR: Three couples including one from Mumbai and two from Nagpur have been arrested for human trafficking  after a four-day old infant was ‘sold’ for Rs 1.10 lakh by its parents to a childless couple.

The human trafficking cell of the Nagpur crime branch has registered a case against all the couples.

The childless couple – Poornima and Snehadip Shedke - is from Mumbai and had ‘procured’ the infant through a Nagpur-based relative couple of theirs. This couple – Kiran and Pramod Ingle – had finalized a ‘deal’ with Sunil and Shewanta Gendre to take their infant for the agreed amount.

According to sources, the child was born to Shewanta Gendre on August 18 at a private hospital in Nagpur. Four days later, on August 22, the mother and child were discharged and then the Gendre couple handed over the infant to the Ingle couple by taking Rs 10,000 cash.

The other Rs 1 lakh was to be paid over in bank in the name of the other two children of the Gendre couple, sources said.

Ingle couple had ‘identified’ the Gendre couple as prospective ‘sellers’ after the Shedke couple asked them to look for a child. Kiran Ingle and Poornima Shedke are sisters.

Since the Gendre couple, residents of Kalamana in Nagpur are poor and Shewanta was expecting her third child, they were worried about its upbringing. The Pandhrabodi resident Ingle couple met them at the Daga hospital and the deal was sealed.

The child had already been handed over to the Shedke couple who had travelled to Nagpur from Mumbai for the purpose. However, the human trafficking cell of the Nagpur police got a hint about the ‘deal’ and swooped in to arrest the three couples. The infant has been placed in a child shelter. Further probe is on.