MARGAO: The Karnataka couple’s bid to sell their seven-month-old infant son to a ‘buyer’ from Chimbel through an ‘agent’ from Ponda, reportedly fell through after the couple realised that the agent was going to pocket most of the cash, in the twisted transaction.
The Konkan Railway police recorded the statement of the agent, a woman from Ponda, on Monday. The investigation revealed that the woman received the information about the couple looking to sell their baby on a Whatsapp group text.
PI Sachin B Panalkar of the Konkan Railway police told Herald that the agent had struck a deal with the Chimbel resident, to provide him with a child, for a sum of Rs 3 lakh. The couple, 32-year-old Asif Khan and his wife Munni, however, were not informed about the actual ‘sale price’ of their child, as the agent had promised them only Rs 80,000.
The couple, along with the infant, had arrived at Margao railway station on the Howrah Express, and were met by the agent on the platform. According to the police, the agent asked them to hand over the infant to her for a few minutes, so she could take him and ‘show him’ to the buyer. She took care not to let the two ‘parties’ of the ‘sale’ meet. The couple became suspicious and refused to part with the child, and insisted on meeting the Chimbel resident in person. They began arguing loudly, attracting the attention of the Railway Protection Force.
The investigation has revealed that the child’s Munni (25) was suffering from epilepsy and could not take care of the child. The couple were unable to make ends meet and decided to sell the baby, said the police. An elderly woman in Bellary, Karnataka, said she knew someone in Goa who may be able to find them a buyer. A text regarding the sale of the child was shared via Whatsapp through a network in Goa, which reached the Ponda woman who then made the plan to sell the child for Rs 3 lakh, but only pay the couple Rs 80,000, said the police.
The father of the child, Khan, has been remanded to two day’s police custody, while his wife Munni and the baby, were discharged from hospital. The police said that they are likely to house the baby in a Protection Home.
