Newborn boy sold for ₹1.7 lakh rescued; case booked

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. A newborn boy was sold illegally for ₹1.7 lakh through intermediaries to a childless couple, prompting authorities to register a case and rescue the infant, who has since been placed under state care. The case came to light after the Women and Child Welfare Department received information about the illegal transfer of a newborn and conducted an enquiry. Based on the findings, a complaint was lodged at Kulsumpura police station on June 9. Preliminary probe revealed that Madhusudhan and Meena, a couple who had been childless for nearly 18 years, were looking to adopt a child and approached a man identified as Potharaju Suresh for assistance. Suresh contacted Padma Paltiya, and the two acted as mediators in arranging the transfer of a newborn male infant. Police said the child was born on May 28 at a private hospital in Tukkuguda to Mohan and Sandhya. Investigators found that the infant had a physical disability and was handed over by the biological parents to Padma, a relative of the child’s father. The infant was subsequently transferred to the childless couple at JP Dargah in Kothur mandal. Authorities found that ₹1.7 lakh was paid to Padma in the presence of Suresh as part of the illegal transaction, bypassing the legal adoption process. Following the enquiry, the 12-day-old infant was produced before the Child Welfare Committee and admitted to Shishu Vihar in Ameerpet for care and protection. A Zero FIR was registered and the case was transferred to the Nandigama police for further investigation.