In a disturbing case from N.R. Pura taluk in Chikkamagaluru district, police have arrested a couple and a retired nurse for selling a newborn baby girl just two days after her birth for ₹1 lakh.
The infant’s mother, Ratna, from Konanagudda village, delivered the baby at Koppa Government Hospital on May 22. Merely two days later, the baby was sold to Raghavendra from Karkala, allegedly arranged through retired nurse Kusuma, who acted as the intermediary.
Upon receiving a tip-off, PSI Niranjan Gowda and his team at N.R. Pura Police Station launched an investigation and quickly unraveled the sale. A coordinated effort between the Police, Women and Child Welfare Department, and the Health Department led to the safe recovery of the baby from Karkala. She has since been placed in the care of the District Child Welfare Committee.
Investigations revealed that Raghavendra is the brother of Kusuma, and he claimed he took the child out of desperation, having no children of his own. However, authorities suspect that this may not have been the couple’s first such act, with reports indicating two of Ratna and Sadananda’s children may have also been sold.
A case has been registered, and the three accused—mother Ratna, father Sadananda, and nurse Kusuma—have been taken into custody.
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