A chance audio clip has blown the lid off a well-entrenched network involved in the sale of newborns. Such is its expanse that the CB-CID has been roped in to investigate. Poverty of ‘sellers’ and desperation among ‘buyers’ is believed to have fuelled the racket
On April 25, an audio clip of a conversation on procuring babies for illegal adoption by childless couples went viral on social media.
An inquiry by Namakkal police into the conversation, which sounded like one between a prospective buyer and a broker, uncovered a network involved in the sale of 30 newborns – 24 of them female -- from various parts of the State, including villages in the Kolli Hills of Namakkal District.
Police said the racket involved facilitation of illegal adoption of babies, mostly born into poor families, for huge sums of money. The price varied with the gender, health and complexion of the child.
The Namakkal police arrested S. Amuthavalli, a retired nursing assistant from Rasipuram, her husband S. Ravichandran, who works in a public sector bank, and an ambulance driver, Murugeshan, from Kolli Hills. They also arrested a few agents from Erode, who lured childless couples into illegal procurement of children. They were the link between the “buyers” and Amuthavalli, who then worked the deal with parents who wanted to give their children away.