Cops recover ‘sold’ infant, HP woman held
The matter came to light after a local journalist informed the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) about the missing girl child and her worried mother, who claimed to have been defrauded by a group of persons.
The Karnal police claimed to have taken a two-month-old girl into their custody after the infant was recovered by their team from Himachal Pradesh atleast two weeks after it was allegedly sold by her parents.
The matter came to light after a local journalist informed the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) about the missing girl child and her worried mother, who claimed to have been defrauded by a group of persons.
Following the tip-off, CWC chairperson Umesh Chanana instructed the cops to take action and find the baby girl, who was then recovered the infant from Jwalamukhi city of Kangra district and handed over to the authorities at Bal Bhawan in Karnal last week.
Speaking to HT, Chanana said that the girl’s father is a daily wager who runs an egg cart, while the couple, both disabled, are parents to three other girls and a boy as well.
“It has come to fore that the girl was sold by the parents to a HP couple through some agents. The buyers revealed that they had paid a sum of ₹1.70 lakh, while the parents claim that they were given some amount of money that they refused to accept and the child was taken away fraudulently,” he added.
The chairperson further said that he has also written to Karnal SP to constitute an SIT in the matter to investigate the whole case thoroughly, at the same time also checking on the human trafficking and involvement of other touts.
On the other hand, the girl’s mother, in her complaint to the police, said that the child was getting frequent fits, for which she consulted a doctor, where she was introduced to one Paramjeet by a nurse.
“I was told that he runs an NGO to help the poor. Over a call, Paramjeet assured to get back to me in a couple of days. Two days later, the man with his wife Aarti reached our makeshift home behind a banquet hall and lured us that they will help us build our home and safe future of our children,” she said.
According to the FIR, accessed by the HT, the woman along with her husband and the infant reached the residence of the accused persons on April 4 in Ram Nagar area, where they two other people apart from Paramjeet and his wife Aarti already waiting.
“They all gave us some money, persuading us to accept it to get my leg treated. They assured that our daughter would get treatment, for which she was to be kept with them for one or two days. However, we agreed, but as we reached home, we were informed about the accused and how the children are being sold nowadays. As we returned to get back our girl, we were told that a couple that was sitting in the room had taken her to Himachal Pradesh,” she added.
The FIR also states that in the next couple of days, the girl’s parents visited the accused multiple times, but they did not get their child back.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered against Aarti and Paramjeet under sections 351(2), 3(5), 143(2) and 115 of the BNS at Ram Nagar police station.
Investigators said that the accused ran their own marriage bureau and the girl’s mother filed a complaint against them as the deal could have gone wrong, due to which she might not have received the full amount as agreed.
On Monday, the police arrested Suman Lata, the HP woman who allegedly purchased the girl.
Sub-inspector Gurjeet Singh, investigating officer (IO) in the case, said that the woman was presented before a court and sent to judicial custody.
Inspector Sandeep Kumar, SHO, Ram Nagar police station said, “It has come to fore that the arrested woman was not having a child. She came into touch with the staff nurse through her sister from Panipat and later the deal took place during Navratri week. The girl’s mother will also be arrested soon for selling her child. The matter is under investigation but there is no human trafficking angle so far.”
