PUDUKKOTTAI: A baby girl ‘sold’ for Rs 1 lakh in an illegal adoption was rescued by Viralimalai police on Sunday. Police also took one Kannan, neighbour of the baby’s birth parents, who allegedly facilitated the adoption, into custody.
The baby was born to a 32-year-old cook at a small restaurant and his 26-year-old wife on November 4. Kannan is alleged to have convinced the couple, already struggling under poverty with three children, to give their baby up for adoption in exchange for money.
After his repeated efforts, the couple is said to have succumbed. On November 12, police said that Kannan to the mother and baby to Erode by car and then took the baby away. He returned after some time, handed over Rs 1 lakh to the woman and sent her back to Viralimalai by bus. Pudukkottai police learned of the transaction from Childline, which had been tipped-off. Police got details about Kannan and the adoption from the couple. They later found that Kannan had sold the baby to one Sivaraj (52) and his wife Shanmugapriya (40) of Avinashi town in Tirupur district. The Avinashi couple had been childless for 15 years and paid Kannan Rs 2.5 lakh for the baby, police said. On Sunday a special team of police picked up Kannan from Inamkulathur area in Tiruchy. The baby was recovered earlier in the day.
The police are investigating if Kannan had facilitated similar adoptions in the past. Neither of the couples have been booked so far. According to Pudukkottai SP Balaji Saravanan the Avinashi couple maintained that they were told it was a legal adoption. “The birth parents claim that they did not know the baby was being given away. We are investigating the case," he said.