Newborn allegedly sold for Rs 40,000 in Nalasopara, doctor among 6 booked
Nalasopara: Tulinj police have registered a case against a doctor and five others over allegations that a newborn was sold for Rs 40,000 a day after a 17-year-old girl gave birth at a private hospital in Nalasopara, Maharashtra. The case involves allegations of an illegal premature delivery, the sale of a newborn and the sexual assault of a minor.
Following the incident, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation sealed the private hospital.
According to police, the girl, a resident of Nalasopara East, became pregnant following a relationship with a 22-year-old man from the same locality. After her mother learnt about the pregnancy, the minor was admitted to a private hospital in Santosh Bhuvan, Nalasopara East, on Sunday.
Police alleged that a doctor conducted an illegal premature delivery at the hospital. The newborn boy was subsequently handed over to a childless couple from Nalasopara for Rs 40,000, reportedly with the help of the girl’s mother and a woman neighbour. The minor was discharged after the delivery and returned home.
The incident came to light on Monday when the girl complained of abdominal pain and was taken to Tulinj Hospital, operated by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. A medical examination revealed that she had recently given birth. Hospital authorities subsequently alerted the police, prompting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the delivery and the newborn’s whereabouts.
Tulinj police have booked the man accused of sexually assaulting the minor, her mother, the woman neighbour, the doctor who allegedly conducted the delivery and the couple accused of purchasing the baby. The 22-year-old man has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and remanded in police custody until Saturday, TOI reported.
Police said the couple had been childless for 14 years. Investigators are probing the alleged transaction and the roles of those involved.
The civic body’s health department chairman said strict action would be taken against those found conducting illegal deliveries.
