Hyderabad: 7 held for adoption scam
RMP doctors, pharmacist, parents held for selling babies.
Hyderabad: Rachakonda police has busted an illegal baby adoption racket and has arrested six persons. The cops arrested an RMP doctor, a pharmacist, the biological parents of the two-month-old child and the couple who adopted the child illegally.
The arrested persons are RMP doctor Shankar, who is in-charge of the Telangana Multi Speciality Hospital in Srinivas, the pharmacist-cum-administrator of the hospital, biological parents of the child K. Vanitha and K. Jawaharlal and adopted parents E. Ravi and E. Varalakshmi.
Shankar and Srinivas used to lure women who came to their hospital for child births. As the hospital was surrounded by tribal hamlets, the duo could easily lure mothers to sell their babies.
On November 28, Vanitha hailing from Sathi tanda in Loyapally village delivered her third girl at the hospital. Before delivery Shankar used to conduct gender determination tests on foetuses and reveal the sex of the child. He also used to tell them that they cannot bring up the children if they are girls, and that they can earn money if they sell the child.
“Vanitha and Jawah-arlal fell into their trap as the child was their third girl. They mediated with one Shanta who searched for a prospective couple and settled the deal for Rs 35,000,” LB Nagar DCP Tafseer Iqubal said.
Police found that Shanta mediated the deal and the biological parents were not even allowed to meet the couple who wanted to adopt the child. Shanta took the child and handed her over to Ravi and Varalaxmi and collected the money.
“They paid Rs 10,000 to the biological parents and promised to waive their hospital charges. The balance Rs 25,000 was shared among themselves,” police said. Based on a tip off, Police raided the hospital and the village and arrested the duo, the biological parents, the mediator and the couple who illegally adopted the child.
Varalakshmi was working as a nurse at a private hospital and Ravi was working as a watchman in the same hospital. They were booked under the Prohibition of Illegal Adoption Act and remanded. The baby was shifted to Shishuvihar.