Mumbai: Father arrested for selling one and half year old daughter

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The Azad Maidan police on Thursday arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly selling his one and a half-month-old daughter for Rs 3 lakh. The facts of the case emerged during the investigation of a 71-day-old baby that was kidnapped from the pavement near St. Xaviers College in south Mumbai, an official said.

According to the Azad Maidan police, during the course of the investigation of a 71-day-old baby who was kidnapped from the pavement of St. Xaviers college, the cops arrested one couple from Wadala and one accused from Dharavi identified as Santosh Dhumale, who allegedly gave Rs. 60,000 to the Wadala couple to kidnap a 71-day-old child; the child was later rescued by police.

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While interrogations, the police learned that the accused, Dhumale, who has also worked at Sion hospital as a ward boy, was into the child selling racket, and while recording his statement, the cops found that, similarly, he had sold a one and a half-month-old girl to a resident of Mankhurd. The police then arrested the Mankhurd resident, identified as Bhimshappa Shaniwar.

"He is a fruit seller in the area and was not having a child due to some medical reasons. He then thought of adopting one, but he used illegal routes," an officer said.

Later, the police arrested the father of the girl from Thane, identified as Tinku Chavan (25), on Thursday. The Azaad Maidan police suspect that the father of the girl, who already has two girls, wanted a third baby boy, but as the third child was also a girl, he thought of selling her. The police are further investigating whether Dhumale is also involved in any other similar offences.