A 38-year-old daily wage worker was arrested in Tirunelveli district on Wednesday, after he illegally sold his new born girl baby to a childless couple for Rs.1.8 lakh. Soon after selling her off, the father Yesuirudhayaraj went on to get completely intoxicated and bought a gold chain for the twin brother of the infant he had just exchanged for money.
Yesuirudhayaraj and his wife Pushpalatha are both residents of Arugampatti village in Vikramasingapuram and were parents to two girls and one boy child. On November 8, Pushpalatha gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl. But Yesuirudhayaraj, unhappy with the birth of yet another girl, decided to sell her while keeping the male child.
He conspired with three brokers - Selvam, Nellaiappar and Kannan to sell the child to another couple in Tirunelveli who were willing to illegally adopt her for a fee. An amount of Rs.1,80,000 was decided on by the men, according to the police. While Yesuirudhayaraj took Rs.one lakh, the brokers split Rs.80,000 amongst them.
"His wife Pushpalatha was unaware of this plan. He took the girl on November 18 and gave her away," says an investigating official. "As soon as he got the money he bought a gold chain for his new born son and a cellphone for himself. He further retreived a bike and a cycle that he had mortgaged," adds the officer.
His plot however unravelled when government hospital authorities demanded to know where the child was as she had not been brought in for a check-up as ordered.
"While Yesuirudhayaraj claims his wife knew what his plan was, she has denied any knowledge. They had a public fight in the hospital and a nurse there informed Childline, leading to action," says the official.
After receiving the complaint, police had arrested Yesuirudhayaraj, the middlemen and the man who actually paid and bought the child.
The child has temporarily been handed over to an adoption agency for her safety.
An FIR has been filed under sections 363 (Punishment for kidnapping), 120B (Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death), 420(Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 147 (punishment for rioting) of the Indian Penal Code. They have also been booked under 80 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act under which the crime is punishable with five years in prison.