Kolkata
Police apprehended an elderly couple, Chunni Das and Alka Sardar, for attempting to sell their 23-day-old granddaughter through a local agent. The arrest follows a complaint filed by the baby’s 19-year-old mother, Nilam Kumari, who revealed that Chunni is her biological father, and Alka is her stepmother. The newborn was successfully rescued and returned to her mother, with the police ensuring necessary medical attention.
Nilam Kumari reported the crime at the Anandapur Police station on the outskirts of Kolkata, explicitly implicating her parents. Subsequently, an investigation led to the detention of the elderly couple, who eventually confessed to selling their granddaughter to a child trafficking agent for Rs 30,000.
The arrested duo faces charges under Section 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. This incident comes after the Anandapur Police station gained national attention in August for uncovering an illegal child-selling racket. The operation involved over 100 agents and sub-agents connected to a network centered around a popular in-vitro fertilization (IVF) center. The modus operandi of the racket targeted financially disadvantaged women, proposing to purchase their wombs for amounts ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000. After the birth of the child, the newborn would be handed over to a couple at a cost ranging from Rs 4,00,000 to Rs 4,50,000. The recent arrest emphasizes the persistent challenges authorities face in combating illicit child trafficking networks.
