9-month-old baby girl sold for ₹1.5 lakh in Malappuram; 5 held

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Malappuram: Tirur police arrested five people for allegedly selling a 9-month-old baby girl for ₹1.5 lakh. All the accused are natives of Tamil Nadu. The child was rescued following a tip-off.
The baby’s mother, Keerthana, and her partner, Shiva, sold the child to Aadhi Lakshmi, with intermediaries Senthil Kumar and Premalatha facilitating the transaction. Police said Aadhi Lakshmi claimed she intended to raise the child as her own.
The child, from Keerthana’s first marriage, was reportedly handed over to Aadhi Lakshmi, a Kozhikode resident originally from Tamil Nadu. The initial demand was ₹3 lakh, which was later finalised at ₹1.5 lakh. The family, originally from Salem, was living in a rented house in Tirur at the time.
Alerted by the baby’s sudden absence, neighbours questioned the couple, but their responses were evasive. They then informed the police. During interrogation, inconsistencies in their statements led to the revelation. The child has since been shifted to a government shelter.