Officials of the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department busted a child selling racket. They rescued a 15-day-old baby boy, reportedly sold for ₹16,000.
The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) staff lodged a complaint with the Machavaram police. They reportedly recovered the amount from the infant’s mother.
The infant was admitted to the Old Government General Hospital (Old GGH). The condition of the baby was stable, said hospital deputy superintendent J. Nageswara Rao.
A few days ago, Anganwadi workers during a door-to-door survey under Sector-2 in Vijayawada, identified a 20-year-old unmarried woman, who was eight months pregnant. They noticed that the woman’s mother, who was deserted by her husband, was also pregnant.
Suspecting a racket, the Anganwadi worker lodged a complaint with the Disha Centre, which probed the issue. The woman was admitted in the GGH and delivered the baby boy on April 7. They got discharged after a week, and the woman reportedly gave the baby to a private security guard in the hospital by accepting ₹16,000, on April 17.
“The mother and the baby were discharged on April 15 in a healthy condition. The Disha Centre and ICPS staff alerted us over the involvement of a private woman security guard,” Dr. Nageswara Rao told The Hindu on Wednesday.
According to sources, the woman security guard concealed the infant with her mother, who was staying at Dolasnagar at Mangalagiri in Guntur district. The Mangalagiri police were also inquiring into the racket.
Complaint lodged
“The Anganwadi worker supplied nutritional diet to the mother as she was weak. After the delivery, the staff noticed that the baby was missing. During questioning, the woman spilled the beans. Instructions have been given to our officers to probe deeply into the case,” said WD&CW Director Krithika Shukla.
Machavaram Circle Inspector G.V. Vinay Mohan said the ICPS staff lodged a complaint and a case was being registered under appropriate sections. However, no arrests have been made, the CI said.
