Yerawada police arrested six people, including the parents of a baby girl, for allegedly illegally selling the child for ₹3.5 lakh, said officials on Saturday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Meenal Sapkal, 29, Omkar Sapkal, 29, from Bibwewadi; Sahil Bagwan, 27, from Satara; Reshma Pansare, 34, and Sachin Awatade, 44, from Yerawada, and Deepali Phatangare, 32, from Sangamner.
The incident came to light on July 2 in the Shastri Nagar area.
According to police, Meenal is separated from her first husband and has a five-year-old son. She now lives with her partner Omkar.
On May 25, Meenal gave birth to a baby girl. After the delivery, middlemen—Bagwan, Pansare, and Awatade—approached the Sapkal couple. They allegedly offered ₹3.5 lakh to hand over the 40-day-old baby girl to Deepali.
The baby was given to Phatangare, and out of the ₹3.5 lakh, only ₹2 lakh was given to the parents through the middlemen. Suspecting that the mediators had kept a larger share of the money, the couple filed a complaint with the Yerawada police on July 2, claiming their baby had been kidnapped.
During the investigation, police found that Deepali had taken custody of the baby without following the legal adoption process.
{{/usCountry}}During the investigation, police found that Deepali had taken custody of the baby without following the legal adoption process.
{{/usCountry}}A case has been registered against them under the Juvenile Justice Act and other relevant sections based on a complaint filed by police constable Sachin Gawali.