Hyderabad: Five held for running racket to sell babies

HYDERABAD: A city-based IVF centre worker and four others were held on Tuesday for running a racket to sell newborns.
On July 28, ICDS supervisor Nenavath Radha of Devarakonda lodged a police complaint stating that a labourer couple had sold their newborn girl. While investigating the newborn’s case, Nalgonda police came to know that the couple had sold another child a year ago to a couple in the same mandal. On being quizzed, the parents revealed where the baby was sold last year and the cops rescued the now one-year-old girl. She was later shifted to the shishu gruha in Nalgonda.
But cops could not elicit any clear information from the parents about where they had sold their newborn. A case was registered under the JJ Act and on August 2 Nalgonda police arrested Babu Reddy, who works at the IVF centre in Habsiguda, and his associates V Shyam, E madhavi, Ch Madhavi and S Vasantha.
The accused had contacted the newborn’s family and made an agreement to sell the girl for ₹3 lakh.
Based on the confession of the accused, the child was found at the house of a couple in Miryalaguda. The girl was handed over to child welfare department officials.