Greater Noida Three people were arrested on Saturday nightfor allegedly trying to sell a five-day-old girl for ₹2.6 lakh to a Greater Noida resident, police said, adding that two other people involved are currently on the run.
The arrested accused are Yashika Garg, 33, owner of a private hospital in Bisrakhand resident of the same area; Ranjeet Singh, 24, operation theatre technician at the same hospital;and Gajendra Singh, 35, a cleaner at the hospital.A nurse at the hospital, Pushpa, and her husband have also been booked and are absconding, police said.
“A resident of Sector 1 in Greater Noida on Saturday called child helpline 1098 and informed them about a newborn girl being sold off for ₹2.6 lakh. The anti-human trafficking unit was informed and a trap was laid to nab the suspects,” a senior police officer said.
During investigation, police were informed that a message was circulated in a WhatsApp group of the Sector 1 society that a newborn was available for adoption.
“When the complainant’s wife contacted the given number, she was asked to pay ₹2.6 lakh. The caller also pressured her to decide soon as other buyers were ready to pay the price,” said the officer.
Police were then informed and a deal was fixed to lay the trap. “When two men—Ranjeet and Gajendra— reached the agreed spot with the newborn on Saturday, a police team nabbed them,” said Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police of central Noida.
After their questioning, Garg was also arrested. She told police that the girl took birth at her hospital. “Around five days ago, a woman gave birth to a child at her hospital. Due to financial crisis, the woman told Garg that she will not be able to feed the girl and wanted to give her to someone for better upbringing. To cover hospital expenses, the accused decided to sell her and approached nurse Pushpa, who resides in a Greater Noida high-rise,” an officer said as Garg told him.
Police said Pushpa’s husband (unidentified) circulated the message to WhatsApp groups. A case under sections 143(2) and (4) (trafficking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 was registered against five people at Bisrakh police station, and efforts are underway to nab Pushpa and her husband.