UP: Father forced to sell 3-year-old son to pay hospital bills, 5 arrested

Kushinagar: In a shocking incident, a man allegedly "sold" his three-year-old son in a desperate attempt to pay off hospital bills to secure his wife and newborn child's discharge from a private hospital, leading to the arrest of five individuals on Saturday.

Among the five individuals arrested include middleman Amresh Yadav, the "adoptive parents" Bhola Yadav and his wife Kalawati, a fake doctor and a helper at the hospital.

The man, a daily wage labourer and resident of Barwa Patti had taken his wife to a private hospital for the delivery of their sixth child. After the birth, hospital staff reportedly refused to discharge his wife and newborn due to his inability to pay the medical fees immediately.

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At that moment, he was approached by the accused middlemen who convinced him to give his son to the Bihar couple in exchange for Rs 20,000. In a moment of desperation, he allegedly agreed to part with his young son, signing a fraudulent adoption agreement in exchange for a small sum of money, according to the police investigation. The child was sold on Friday to a local couple under the ruse of adoption.

The incident took place on Saturday evening in a village under Barva Patti police station of Kushinagar district which sparked outrage and prompted swift action from the police authorities after they were informed about the incident through the 112 helpline, as per HT news report.

Upon learning of the incident, police launched an investigation and arrested five individuals involved in the crime including the alleged middleman Amresh Yadav, the "adoptive parents" Bhola Yadav and his wife Kalawati, a fake doctor Tara Kushwaha, and a helper at the hospital Suganti, said the Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Mishra.

As per PTI, the Kushinagar SP removed the police constable, who allegedly failed to take action in the case, from active duty and transferred him to the police lines.

However, the police later rescued the child from the accused group and returned him to his parents.