The group was detained by the Railway Police based on an alert from one of the train passengers, who overheard the group speaking about possibly selling the baby.

The mother, who is 19 years old, hails from a fishing hamlet in Chennai. The incident happened when she along with her new born child and few of her relatives were returning after visit to a temple in Putlur. However, it was not confirmed whether they were planning to sell the baby or not.

“Some of the passengers who reportedly heard them talking about the sale of the baby had initially alerted the Railway Police. “Since the young couple were found with a new born baby and the group was talking about selling the child, some passengers suspected that they were trying to sell the child. Following the alert from the passengers, we detained them initially and later the group was taken to the Tiruvallur police station,” a police official noted. The family was later questioned by the child welfare officers.

When questioned, the mother argued that it was her child and that she was not planning to sell the baby. Officials kept the child and the woman in a government home and asked their relatives to bring the birth certificate and other related documents. “Relatives produced relevant certificates in the police station on Sunday afternoon and after the documents are submitted in the court, the mother and child will be allowed to go back home in Chennai,” said Tiruvallur police. They are currently housed in a home by the child welfare officers.