Hyderabad: A 12-day-old male infant with a physical disability was sold for Rs 1.70 lakh in an illegal transaction facilitated by two mediators, with police registering a Zero FIR at Kulsumpura Police Station on Monday, June 8, before transferring the case to Nandigama PS in Ranga Reddy district.
The infant was born on May 28 at Lakshmi Hospital, a private facility in Tukkuguda, to Mohan and his wife Sandhya.
According to a complaint filed by K Ramu, Protection Officer at the NIC-DCPU under the Women and Child Welfare Department, Hyderabad, the biological parents agreed to hand over the child to Padma Paltiya, a relative of the father, reportedly due to the infant’s disability.
Padma and a Jiyaguda resident, Potharaju Suresh, then acted as middlemen to arrange the transfer to Madhusudhan and Meena, a couple who had been trying to have a child for 18 years.
The handover took place at JP Dargah in Kothur Mandal, Ranga Reddy district, where Madhusudhan and Meena paid Rs 1,70,000 to Padma in the presence of Suresh. No legal adoption procedures were followed. The case came to light after the child welfare department conducted an inquiry on receiving credible information about the transaction.
The infant was subsequently produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Hyderabad, which ordered his placement at Shishu Vihar near Madhura Nagar Metro Station, Ameerpet, for care and protection.
A Zero FIR was registered under Section 143(4) of the BNS and Sections 80 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Since the primary scene of the offence falls under the jurisdiction of Nandigama PS, the case records have been transferred there for re-registration and further investigation.
The case was registered on the complaint of K Ramu and the FIR was issued by A Ramulu, Inspector of Police, Kulsumpura PS.
