Vijaywada, March 29: A shocking case of human trafficking network which sells new-born babies to the childless couples has come to light after Andhra pradesh police cracked the case by rescuing a baby girl who was sold seven times in the past two months.

The three-month old baby from Mangalagiri in Guntur district, finally landed in Eluru in West Godavari after changing hands at Nalgonda, Hyderabad and Vijayawada, according to a report in Times of India.

Police have arrested 11 persons for their involvement, including the father of the baby. Mumbai Shocker: 10-Month- Old Infant Abducted by Woman, Sold for Rs 1.50 Lakh

As per the police, the girl was first sold for Rs 70,000 by her father and in the seventh transaction, she was sold for Rs 2,50,000.

Police said Medabalimi Manoj, a resident of Gandalayapet in Mangalagiri town, was depressed as his wife gave birth to a baby girl for the third time. He decided to sell off his youngest daughter and started making enquiries.  Mumbai Police Busts Gang Selling Newborn Babies, 9 Including a Doctor Arrested

His wife initially agreed to his proposal, but later opposed him and was not ready to give away her child. Manoj continued his search for takers and with the help of one Mikkili Nagalakshmi, he brokered a deal with one Meghavat Gayatri from Kondaprolu village in Nalgonda district on Telangana for Rs 70,000.

A few days later, Gayatri sold the baby to one Bhukya Nandu from Lambadi Devala Thanda in Palkad village of Nalgonda district for Rs 1.20.000.

Nandu with the help of his relative Bhukya Balavarti Raju, sold the girl to one SK Nurjahan from Dilshuknagar area of Hyderabad for Rs 1,87,000.

Nurjahan with her contacts and with the help of one Anuboju Kiran from Khammam, sold her to one Bommada Uma Devi, a resident of Narayanaguda in Hyderabad.

Uma Devi in turn sold the girl to one Padala Sravani from Vijayawada for R 2,00,000. Sravani sold again sold the girl to one Garikamukku Vijayalakshmi, a resident of Collapudi area in Vijayawada, for Rs 2,20,000.

Later, Vijayalakshmi sold the girl to one Varre Ramesh from Eluru of West Godavari district for RS2,50,000.

The mother-in-law of Manoj along with her daughter lodged a complaint with the police after he sold the girl.

Mangalagiri DSP, J Rambabu formed a special team with inspector B Ankamma Rao, SI E Narayana and others to probe the case. Starting with the father of the girl, cops traced every link in the chain and arrested 11 persons involved in the case. The baby girl was handed over to her mother.

Ankamma Rao said the modus operandi of the network is to target childless couples and to sell newly-born babies to those who are willing to adopt a child. They have contacts with the IVF centres at various places and they will collect the details of the couples who visit the IVF centres.

They will select those couples who ran out of all options and are willing to adopt a child. As it is difficult for them to find sellers and buyers at a time, they will maintain a network between them. They will sell the babies to others in the network for nominal margins if they do not have a buyer in hand, explained Ankamma Rao. He said that further investigation is still on to find out in how many cases these people are involved.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2022 10:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).