Namakkal: In yet another shocking turn to the investigations into the recent baby sale case centred around a Rasipuram-based retired government nurse, Amudha aka Amuthavalli, the Tamil Nadu CB-CID police who took over the investigations, on Saturday arrested a Bengaluru-based beautician in connection with the buying and selling babies for adoption by childless couples.
Police said 40-year-old Rekha of Bengaluru was arrested, based on a statement of another accused in the case, Ms. Hasina. Ms. Rekha, who had allegedly been a go-between surrogate mothers who lend their embryos for a fee to help childless couples conceive through in-vitro fertilization techniques and potential parent-clients, had sourced babies from Amudha and allegedly sold them to affluent childless couples in Bengaluru.
Besides Amudha, her husband Ravichandran, Murugesan, an ambulance driver of a primary health centre in Kollimalai area in the district, and suspected women brokers who were part of the deal, night persons have been held in connection with the racket to source abandoned/unclaimed babies from government hospitals or infants of poverty-stricken tribal families and selling them to childless couples keen to adopt children.
The arrest of Ms. Rekha is the tenth person to be taken into custody in this case so far. Sources said that CB-CID investigations have so far revealed that as many as 32 babies including 26 girl children were found to have been part of this baby-sale racket.
However, as Amudha had reportedly said she was involved in this for several years, CB-CID suspects up to 250 poor babies may have changed hands. But this figure is still only based on unconfirmed reports, police made clear.
Ms. Amudha is alleged to have quoted varying rates for different kinds of babies. On Saturday, Rekha was remanded by a local magistrate up to May 31 and later lodged in the women’s cell in Salem central prison, police sources added.
