TN baby trade: After retired nurse, ambulance driver detained

The Tamil Nadu Health Department has set up a team of 10 officials to conduct a survey on babies born over the last two years in Rasipuram and Kolli Hills.
TN baby trade: After retired nurse, ambulance driver detained
TN baby trade: After retired nurse, ambulance driver detained

A day after the police detained retired government nurse Amudha and her husband for the illegal sale of children in Namakkal district, an ambulance driver from Kolli Hills has been brought in for questioning. His detention is based on statements given by Amudha, who is suspected to be part of a large network involved in the baby trade.

The 48-year-old woman was detained after the audio of her 10-minute conversation with a potential buyer from western Tamil Nadu came under the Health department's radar. She had rattled of prices ranging from Rs 2.70 lakh for a dark-complexioned girl to Rs 4.15 lakh for a fair and healthy boy. She had demanded an advance to secure the baby and even promised to get a fake birth certificate for the buyer. Following her detention, it became clear that she only formed one end of the larger nexus.

"The ambulance driver's name is Murugesan and he is working at a government hospital in Kolli Hills," Namakkal Superintendent of Police Ara Arularasu tells TNM. "We are currently questioning him in connection to the illegal activity."

According to reports, Murugesan would identify expecting mothers who want to part with their child for a price, when they ride in his ambulance and connect them to Amudha. In order to further understand the scope and severity of this illegal trade, the state Health Department has set up a team of 10 officials to conduct a survey on babies born over the last two years in Rasipuram and Kolli Hills.

Speaking to TNM, Director of Public Health K Kolandasamy explains, "On one side the police investigation is going on and on the other we are assisting them by providing required data. We need to see how long this has been going on and what is the magnitude of the issue. From the conversation it seems like a large network."

The department has thus decided to look into three main categories to identify any children who could have been sold off.

"Our highest priority is to check if there are children who have birth certificates without their birth being recorded in the hospital's register. Next is to see if families who claim their child is dead but do not have a death certificate, and then to check on children who are third or fourth born. We will be checking the records for the last two years," says the Director. "If the clues lead us to previous years we will look into those records too. Once this is done, we will check on the remaining children. This entire process will take us at least a month," he adds.

Commenting on the crime itself, Kolandasamy points out that the modus operandi is simple.

"It has not been exposed so far because all the parties have given consent here. Usually this involves a reasonably well to do family who are facing pressure from society because they don't have a child and a poor family which cannot afford to have a child. These brokers exploit the desperation to make money," says Kolandasamy.

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