Couple, industrialist arrested for sale of 7-year-old girl in Salem

Police have also arrested the 52-year-old industrialist and an inquiry is on with him to know if the girl was subjected to any sexual harassment. Police said Sumathi, wife of Sathish was working as a domestic help in the house of B Krishnan at Mullai Nagar in Salem. The couple from Perumalkovilmedu in Seelanaickenpatti had three children, two daughters aged 10 and 7 and a six-year-old boy.

The incident came to light, when the girl’s grandmother Chinnaponnu lodged a complaint with police claiming that her granddaughter was in the custody of Krishnan over the last six months.

“He was taking the child for a stay with him to tourist places and was refusing to even allow the family members to meet or talk with the girl,” she alleged, while seeking to know if the girl was subjected to any sexual harassment or other torture.

Following this, the case was shifted to the AWPS police, who jointly with child line staff rescued the girl.

Meanwhile, an audio recording of the girl’s mother telling her relative over phone that she sold her daughter for Rs 10 lakh went viral on the social media. In the audio clip, Sumathi claims she had deposited Rs 10 lakh, received from the sale of her daughter, in a bank with a plan to build a new house.