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Bengaluru shocker: Doctor tries to sell baby boy for Rs 80,000
DC | 28th Dec 2012 Dr Parveen.
Bengaluru: Days after a baby was stolen from the Vani Vilas Hospital in Bengaluru, a sting operation by a regional news channel blew the lid of a child trading racket allegedly being run by a private hospital in Neelasandra, on Thursday. Tipped off by the channel, a team of the Child Welfare Committee, Ashoknagar police and an NGO working for child rights rescued a 25-day-old baby boy that the hospital was reportedly willing to sell for Rs 80,000.
The owner of the Get Well Hospital in Neelasandra, Dr Parveen, her son Harsh and receptionist Sunitha have been taken into custody by the Ashoknagar police and the rescued baby sent to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health where its condition is said to be stable.
The news channel that learnt about the racket sent a woman posing as a buyer. The hospital owner initially refused to sell the child, but collected the contact details of the 'buyer,' and later allegedly called her for negotiations. Finally a deal was struck to sell the child for Rs 80,000 on Thursday, the police said.
A day before the deal was to go through, the channel informed the CWC about the racket and it decided to catch the culprits red-handed with the help of the Ashoknagar police the next day. Accordingly, members of the NGO and CWC accompanied by the police went as decoys to the hospital along with the 'buyer' on Thursday. Once the hospital handed over the child and collected the money, the team surrounded Dr Parveen, Harsh and Sunitha and brought them to the Ashoknagar police station.
CWC chairperson Meena K. Jain later said that according to Dr Parveen, the baby was born on Dec. 2 to an unwed mother who had left the hospital within two days of the delivery.
"She claims not to have registered any details of the mother and had no answer when asked why she had kept the baby without informing the police. This could be either the fourth or fifth baby traded by the hospital that has been around since 2004," she said.
Dr Parveen has reportedly told the police that she gave away one baby for free to her neighbour, Ashim Bhai in 2004 and sold another baby for between Rs 5000 and 10,000 in 2007. "We need to gather more details about the other babies sold," Ms Jain said, adding that a bigger racket could be afoot.
The receptionist has denied any knowledge about the sale of the babies although she has worked at the hospital for the last two years. Dr Parveen's husband, a retired army official, too claims he had no clue about any illegal activity at the hospital.
DCP (Central) Ravikanthe Gowda said the Ashoknagar police were in the process of recording the statements of the suspects and further investigation was on.
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