TIRUPATTUR: Tirupattur district police rescued a two-month-old baby girl sold by her mother for Rs 50,000, and later sold to a childless couple in Namakkal through a network of brokers for Rs 13 lakh. Police arrested six individuals, including the baby’s mother and the couple who bought the baby. The main accused, S Jabeena, 35, the wife of Shabeer, 38, a disabled man from Pernambut, Vellore district, used to seek alms in the Nariyampattu area near Ambur, where she gave birth to a baby girl two months ago. Rashid Ahmed, 50, a mason, approached her and convinced her to sell the baby to overcome her financial distress. On May 20, Rashid paid Jabeena Rs 50,000 in cash and took custody of the infant. When Shabeer probed his wife about the missing baby, she gave contradictory answers. Shabeer then gave her an ultimatum to bring the baby back. So, Jabeena approached Rashid to return the Rs 50,000 in exchange for her baby. As Rashid kept evading her for days, she approached the Oomerabad police station and filed a complaint to rescue her child.Tirupattur district superintendent of police Akshay Anil Wakhare ordered an investigation. District child protection officer Sugapriya also filed a formal complaint. Investigations were launched across multiple regions, including Vellore, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, and Namakkal, to track down the baby. Investigations revealed a web of brokers involved in the crime. Rashid handed the infant to his friend Pugazhendhi, 41, a driver residing in Vasanthapuram, Vellore. Pugazhendhi, through connections at a private hospital in Vellore, handed the baby over to Uma Maheswari, 42, of Perundurai, Erode. Her relative, a marriage broker named Ramesh, knew of a wealthy couple, Sathish Kumar, 33, and Harini, 27, from Namakkal, who had been childless for more than seven years.Following the paper trail, a police team rushed to Komarapalayam in Namakkal and safely rescued the baby from the custody of the couple. Police arrested the couple, alongside the main conspirators, Rashid, Pugazhendhi and Uma Maheswari, for child trafficking and illegal sale.
