One-year-old rescued after being sold for ₹40,000; 7 booked

Mumbai police rescued a one-year-old boy allegedly sold for ₹40,000, booking seven including parents. The couple who bought him raised suspicion at hospital.

Mumbai: The Bhoiwada police have rescued a one-year-old boy who was allegedly sold to a couple in Raigad district for ₹40,000 and booked seven people including the boy’s parents in the case.

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The incident came to light when the couple who allegedly bought the boy tried to admit him in the Wadia hospital, seeking treatment for his abdominal pain. Hospital authorities suspected foul play as the accused couple could not provide valid documents of either the child or his parents and intimated the police.

The accused were identified Chandrakant Waghmare and Shewanti Waghmare, the boy’s parents; Parashuram Chougle, 52, and Malti Chougle, 48, the couple who bought him. The other accused included Laxmi Patil, Deepti Pavse and Bhaskar Cholkar.

According to the police, the Chougles, who live in Wadvali village in Shrivardhan taluka of Raigad district, were keen on adoption as they did not have a child even after 30 years of marriage. In September 2023, Malti Choughle’s sister Laxmi Patil informed her that a fellow villager named Chandrakant Waghmare had given his one-year-old boy to his neighbour Deepti Pavse, so she could take care of him. But Deepti did not want to keep the child, Patil told her sister, and asked her if she would like to adopt him.

Thereafter, the Chougles visited Laxmi Patil’s house, where they met Pavse, said police. She claimed she had bought the child from Waghmare for ₹50,000, but since the child was crying continuously and did not seem happy staying with her, she wanted to sell him for ₹40,000. The Chougles, in the presence of two more villagers, decided to buy the boy on September 30 and paid ₹5,000 as an advance.

Agreeing to pay the remaining amount of ₹35,000 in June 2024, the Chougles brought the boy home and named him Sai. When he fell sick about a week ago, they consulted a local doctor who referred them to Wadia hospital. On February 16, when the Chougles visited the hospital seeking to admit the boy, the authorities suspected foul play and intimated the police.

The accused have been booked under sections 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 81 of the Child Protection Act, said officials. “The case has been transferred to the Dighi Sagari police station in Raigad district for further investigation as the accused members live there and the incident took place there,” said deputy commissioner of police Prashant Kadam.