Man arrested for selling 2-month-old daughter for ₹3 lakh

Mumbai: The police on Thursday arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly selling his two-month-old daughter for ₹3 lakh

Mumbai: The police on Thursday arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly selling his two-month-old daughter for ₹3 lakh.

The police managed to rescue the girl from a Wadala-based couple Mohammed Hanif Memon (46) and his wife Afreen (39) within 12 hours. (Image for representation)

The girl’s father, Tinku Chavan, had sold the infant to one Santosh Dhumale, who was arrested last week in connection with the kidnapping of a 71-day-old girl on October 26.

This was the second child rescued by the Azad Maidan police, while probing the kidnapping of the 71-day old infant from the pavement outside St Xavier School in south Mumbai. The police managed to rescue the girl from a Wadala-based couple Mohammed Hanif Memon (46) and his wife Afreen (39) within 12 hours. The couple was arrested and an FIR was registered based on the statement of the biological mother of the girl.

The duo then confessed the name of Santosh Dhumale, who had promised them ₹60,000. The police then arrested Dhumale from Dharavi on October 28 and during interrogation it was found that he facilitated the illegal adoption of another girl (Chavan’s daughter).

Based on this information, the police registered a second FIR and arrested Bhimshappa Shanivar (45), a Sion resident, who illegally adopted the baby girl. Shanivar has been charged with trafficking of a minor under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.

According to police, apart from the two-month-old girl, Chavan, who is a daily wager, has two more daughters aged four and five. Unable to bear the expense of three children, he sold his youngest daughter when Dhumale approached him. He was produced in the court and remanded in police custody till November 7, said Bhusan Belnekar, senior inspector, Azad Maidan police station.