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Impoverished couple tries to sell 2-month old baby in Hyderabad, arrested

Hindustan Times, Hyderabad | BySrinivasa Rao Apparasu | Edited by Sabir Hussain
May 24, 2020 09:37 PM IST

Another woman identified as Seshu, who was brokering the deal, was also taken into custody. The child was the couple’s second son, the first one is seven-years old.

Driven by poverty and lack of work during the lockdown, a migrant couple in Hyderabad tried to sell their two-month-old baby boy for Rs 22,000 through a mediator on Sunday.

Migrant workers walks towards a temporary shelter to register for free travel on a train, during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Saturday, May 16, 2020/ representative.(AP)
Migrant workers walks towards a temporary shelter to register for free travel on a train, during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, Saturday, May 16, 2020/ representative.(AP)

The Jeedimetla police arrested the couple Madan Kumar Singh (32) and Saritha (30) from Uttar Pradesh, who came to Hyderabad a few years ago to work as construction labourers and have been staying at Bathukamma Banda near Jagadgirigutta.

Another woman identified as Seshu, who was brokering the deal, was also taken into custody. The child was the couple’s second son, the first one is seven-years old.

“We have rescued the child and shifted him to Sishu Vihar being run by the Women and Child Welfare Department authorities,” P V Padmaja Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Police of Balanagar, told Hindustan Times.

She said enquiries revealed that the couple was facing acute poverty conditions. “We are investigating as to whether there were any other reasons for the sale of the child,” the DCP said.

The police said the couple had apparently thought they would not be able to raise the second child due to lack of resources. The child’s mother, however, told the police that her husband was also addicted to alcohol and was pestering her for money to buy liquor.

“The couple managed to find a broker Seshu, who reportedly found a childless couple who agreed to buy the child for Rs 22,000. On receiving a tip off, we caught Seshu who was taking the child for a medical examination,” police said.

Andhra Pradesh Balala Hakkula Sangham president P Achyuta Rao said it was the responsibility of the state government to come to the rescue of daily wage workers who were suffering from poverty due to lockdown. “The department of women and child welfare should launch an awareness campaign about the Cradle Scheme among the poor people who were resorting to selling of new-born babies,” he said.

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