Friends use infant to extort parents seeking to adopt

MBVV cops with two of accused arrested in the case

The Navghar police have arrested three people for extorting money from a 42-year-old garage owner, who was trying to adopt a three-month-old girl. The child's mother is among the accused, said cops.

A court in Mira-Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) remanded the 24-year-old woman, Alpesh Kachchiya, 30, and Yash Hitesh Soni, 25, in police custody on Monday. Two other accused, Manish Chaudhary and Rohit Sutar, are at large.

The complainant lives in Bhayandar with his wife and their two sons, aged 13 years and 12 years. Police said he was looking to adopt a girl child, as his wife had been sad about not having a daughter. He had even registered with several adoption centres, said a cop.

The child was born out of wedlock on November 29. Representation pic

In December, a friend of the complainant told him about Kachchiya who he said wanted to give his one-month-old daughter up for adoption, because of his poor financial condition.

Kachchiya told him that his wife ran away with someone else after the child was born. "My wife and I met Kachchiya near Bhayandar East railway station on December 28 and noticed the girl was ill. We decided to adopt her and asked Kachchiya for documents," the complainant said.

"Kachchiya said that he couldn't afford her treatment and handed the child over to us. We took her home as she was sick and then to a doctor," he added.

However, Kachchiya started asking him for money to clear his debts, claiming he had spent a lot on the girl's treatment. First he took Rs 1,000 to clear dues at a pharmaceutical shop. "He came to my garage one evening asking for Rs 20,000. I gave him the money considering his financial situation," the complainant said.

Despite asking repeatedly, he did not give documents for adoption, said the man, adding that four-five days later, he returned. "He started crying and requested that I give his daughter back, as he could not live without her," he added. He gave the girl back to Kachchiya.

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Rash driving cabbie kills woman in Wadala

"A few days later, Soni came and offered to help make the adoption official, if I cleared Kachchiya's debt of Rs 2.5 lakh. On January 5, Kachchiya came with Soni, Chaudhary, Sutar and the child. I gave them Rs 1 lakh. But, their demand started increasing.

"They started threatening to lodge a complaint of child theft if I didn't give them more money. I immediately went to the police with the child," he added.

Under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Jayant Bajbale, Senior Inspector Milind Desai and Assistant Inspector Ganesh Kekan nabbed Kachchiya, Soni and the woman.

Police said that the infant was born out of wedlock on November 29. Kachchiya, the mother's friend, took the responsibility of raising the girl. He and his friends then got the idea to make easy money by luring innocent people looking to adopt a child, a cop said.

Police have sent the child to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Requesting anonymity, a CWC official said the complainant's method of adopting the child is illegal and that he should be booked, too.

The Navghar police, however, said the probe so far shows the complainant has not committed any crime. "He wanted to adopt the child and had asked for the documents, but the accused were demanding money and threatening to implicate him on false charges. Nothing shows that the child was being bought," an officer said.

Standfirst
Kachchiya, the mother's friend, took the responsibility of raising the girl. He and his friends then got the idea to make easy money by luring innocent people looking to adopt a child, a cop said