Four more arrested in Namakkal baby sale racket

Sources said the cops acted based on the confession of the main accused. A manhunt has been launched to trace other persons involved in the racket.

The investigating officers believe there is a wide network behind the racket after questioning the retired government nurse Amuthavalli, her husband Ravichandran and their aide Murugesan, a government ambulance driver.

According to police sources, the women, who were secured on Saturday, were volunteers who used to frequent the private maternity centres. Explaining their modus operandi, sources said, “They befriend the childless couples and convince them to buy the newborns.”

“The government ambulance driver who took the pregnant women to hospitals for deliveries would enquire about their family background. Once he was sure that a woman would have more children, he would lure the couple to sell the baby in exchange for a huge sum,” sources said.

The gang would also arrange for birth certificates using fake addresses. The accused had a list of possible ‘buyers’ and handed over the babies to them promptly. On occasions, they don’t follow the list instead preferring to sell the baby to anyone who offered a higher sum,” sources said.

Meanwhile, the Namakkal district Joint Director of Health Services, Dr Ramesh Kumar has formed two teams with five members each to make detailed inquires in the case. While one team has been ascertaining the details of birth certificates issued by the Rasipuram Municipality in the past two years, and the other team has been camping with the police at the Kolli Hills, where they are conducting a door-to-door verification about birth certificates issued to the tribal people.