Woman held for bid to sell newborn daughter

Ludhiana: A 32-year-old woman who has five daughters in eight years of marriage, was arrested on Sunday night for allegedly selling off the youngest — a newborn, just three days old — for Rs 2.1 lakh in Ludhiana. Police say she didn't want any share of the money, apart from getting her medical bills cleared — she simply wanted the daughter out of her life.Along with the mother, police have also arrested the alleged buyer, a childless woman, and three other women, including a BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) graduate, who runs a clinic where the alleged ‘deal' was struck. The baby sale, disturbing as it is, was caught by sheer luck. A parkgoer overheard the four women discussing it on Sunday, and quietly alerted Division-3 police.
Police identified the mother as Sunita Devi of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony of Sherpur Kalan. The others in custody are Mandeep Kaur of Moga district's Nangal village, who was to get the baby, Sunita's friend Praveen of Khud Mohalla, BAMS grad Manmeet Kaur of Punjab Mata Nagar of Pakhowal Road, and Manmeet's friend Ruchi of Sant Kabir Nagar of Daba Road. Police are looking for three other suspects — an Asha worker named Pamma of Amritsar, Asha, a nurse of a private hospital where Sunita was admitted, and her aide Gurmeet Kaur of Moga. The matter came to light on Sunday evening when all the accused had gathered at a park near Gurudwara Chhevin Patshahi in Division-3 area to finalise the baby-sale deal, said police. A passerby heard them and informed police, who caught the group in the middle of the deal. Police say the Moga woman had already paid Rs 2.1 lakh by then. ADCP-1 Sameer Verma said, "Interrogation of the accused revealed that Sunita did not want to keep her fifth daughter. She discussed it with her friend Praveen, who spoke to nurse Asha. It was the nurse who approached BAMS Manmeet Kaur, and she asked her friend Ruchi to arrange for someone who needed a baby. With the help of Moga resident Gurmeet Kaur, Ruchi found Mandeep Kaur."Mandeep was married for eight years but could not bear a child, said Verma. "She agreed to pay the money. The accused got Mandeep to transfer Rs 2.1 lakh to doctor Manmeet Kaur, who was to distribute it among the accused" added the ADCP. Asking how much the mother was to get for selling her daughter, Verma said, "The mother had only asked to clear the hospital bill. The remaining amount was to be distributed by the other accused who had got the deal fixed." Police are also checking the possible role of the private hospital's authorities, and whether the accused were involved in similar cases earlier, said the ADCP.This is the second such incident in Punjab in less than four months after a druggie couple was arrested in Mansa district for selling off their six-month-old son to a childless couple for Rs 1.8 lakh to fund their drug habit.