Criminal gangs selling babies from poor families in Andhra Pradesh

Some cases have come to light following inquiries by child protection officials. A medical practitioner was involved in one case. For Sister Devarapalli, poverty is not the only cause. A campaign against orphanages and adoption centres run by Christian groups and foreign NGOs is also to blame.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Some women in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have been forced to sell their babies due to poverty, an issue highlighted today, World Health Day.

Child protection officers have raised the alarm, citing the involvement of criminal gangs in this kind of traffic, The Hindu newspaper reported recently.

Two cases came to light in Eluru and Mangalagiri in the past few days.

In one, a three-day-old baby boy was exchanged at a private hospital in Aswaraopet, a village on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border.

The baby’s father and grandmother sold him to a registered medical practitioner (RMP) for 200,000 rupees (about US$ 2,630). The latter resold the baby to a couple from Visakhapatnam for 300,000 rupees (US$ 3,945), who sold him a third time to a couple from Anakapalli for 500,000 rupees (US$ 6,580).

In the other case made public by Police Deputy Superintendent J. Rambabu, a labourer from Mangalagiri, Guntur district, allegedly sold his third daughter, a two-month toddler, to someone from Nalgonda district, Telangana, for 70,000 rupees (US$ 920).

Two months ago, an attempt was made in Eluru to sell another two-month-old baby girl for just 60,000 rupees (US$ 790), but thanks to a tipoff, Women Development and Child Welfare officials rescued her and placed her with a childcare agency in Eluru.

Unfortunately, such incidents are not isolated. During the lockdown, a couple of migrant construction workers who had lost their jobs reportedly tried to sell their newborn son, but were arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act before the deal went through.

Sister Manju Devarapalli, secretary of the National Dalit Christian Watch (NDCW) in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), is shocked by such events, the Indian Catholic news website Matters India reported.

For her, poverty is not the only cause of this racket. The Indian government's campaign against adoption centres and orphanages, especially those run by Christians, is also to blame.

Rather than cancel licences and ban foreign donations, the authorities and government agencies should study the problem thoroughly and find ways to end it. The latest cases may be “the tip of” an iceberg.

.