Chennai: Police rescued a two-day-old girl sold to a childless couple from Andhra Pradesh for ₹4 lakh and arrested seven people, including the baby’s mother.Police identified the arrested as Pavithra, 23, the baby’s mother; Selvarasi, 30, and Gnanasekaran, 35, of Andhra Pradesh; mediators Dhanam, 50, Visalakshi, 45 and Aandal, 45; and the managing director of the private hospital, Dr Rajasekaran, 40. Police recovered the baby from the AP couple and brought her back to Chennai.Police said Pavithra of Ezhil Nagar was struggling to support her family. Her husband, Ganesan, 25, was unemployed and had been in Puzhal prison for more than eight months in a criminal case. Pavithra, who already had a son, became pregnant with her second child in Dec.Pavithra discussed her financial difficulties with her neighbour Dhanam, who told her that she could hand over the unborn child to a childless couple in return for money. Dhanam then introduced her to Aandal, a nurse associated with a private hospital.Police said the intermediaries arranged for Pavithra’s child to be handed over to Selvarasi and Gnanasekaran. The couple agreed to bear the medical expenses and paid ₹4 lakh after the child’s birth. Another account put the couple’s total expenditure, including pregnancy-related expenses, at ₹9 lakh.Pavithra was admitted to a private hospital in Villivakkam and delivered a baby girl on Aug 18. The following day, she handed over the baby to the AP couple in the presence of the intermediaries. Police said ₹50,000 each was paid as commission to Aandal and hospital receptionist Durga, 43, who had helped facilitate the arrangement.Police said the hospital records were also altered to show Selvarasi as the child’s biological mother. The role of hospital administrator Visalakshi and Dr Rajasekaran is being probedThe issue came to light after information about the baby’s sale reached officials of the Chennai District Child Protection Unit (north). Malarvizhi, a social worker with the unit, lodged a complaint with Villivakkam police.
