Maharashtra couple allegedly sold baby for phone, gold; 7 arrested

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Mumbai:  Police have arrested seven people, including the parents of a two-month-old boy, after uncovering an alleged child-trafficking chain in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

According to police, the couple allegedly sold their baby for ₹1.2 lakh and used the money to buy a smartphone and gold jewellery.

The infant was subsequently sold multiple times, with the transactions taking the child across Maharashtra and into Telangana.

The case came to light on September 20 after the child’s mother approached police with a complaint.

During the investigation, officers discovered that the couple had allegedly handed over their son to an intermediary in exchange for money.

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The baby was then allegedly sold to different people for increasingly higher amounts, eventually reaching Hyderabad, more than 550 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Police rescued the child and brought him back to authorities.

Police said the money received by the parents was spent on a smartphone worth around ₹25,000 and gold jewellery valued at about ₹62,000. Both items have been seized as part of the investigation.

The infant has been placed under the care of an authorised child-care institution following an order by the Child Welfare Committee.

Police are also investigating whether the accused intermediaries may be connected to a larger interstate child-trafficking network.

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