TIRUNELVELI: At least six persons including a 38-year-old daily wage worker were arrested in Tirunelveli district on Wednesday, in connection with a
dehumanizing illegal sale of a 15-day-old infant to a childless couple in Alangulam for a sum of Rs.1.80 lakh.
Adding insult to injury as it were, the daily-wager Yesuirudhayaraj, after selling off his girl child instantly took to alcohol and in an inebriated state bought a gold chain for the twin brother of the infant with part of the cash he got from the sale.
Police said Yesuirudhayaraj of Arumugapatti and his wife Pushpalatha, staying in Arugampatti village in Vikramasingapuram, were blessed with a twin on November 8, when Pushpalatha gave birth to a boy and girl. But Yesuirudhayaraj, resenting another girl child, decided to sell her while keeping the male child.
He allegedly entered into a deal with three brokers - Selvam, Nellaiappar and Kannan- to sell the girl child to one Thangaraj of Alangulam. A tidy sum of Rs 1.80 lakh was agreed upon. While Yesuirudhayaraj took Rs one lakh, the brokers shared the Rs 80,000, said police.
While the police also arrested the three mediators to the deal along with the biological father and the childless parent in Alangulam, who was ready to adopt the girl, the mother of the baby girl, however, was not aware of the whole plan, according to Sri Dev Anand, district child protection officer (DCPO). By sheer coincidence, a verbal fight between Pushpalatha and her husband at the hospital led to fact of the illegal sale breaking open into the public domain.
His wife Pushpalatha was unaware of this plan. He took the girl on November 18 and gave her away," said the DCPO. "As soon as he got the money he bought a gold chain for his newborn son and a mobile phone for himself. He further redeemed a bike and a cycle that he had mortgaged," adds the officer.
"While Yesuirudhayaraj claims his wife knew what his plan was, she has denied any knowledge. They had a public fight in the hospital and a nurse there informed Childline, leading to the action," the official confided.
However, the girl child, instead of being restored to her mother, has temporarily been handed over to an adoption agency, said sources. An FIR has been filed under various sections of IPC and sections 80 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
Further investigation is on.
