The Thane city police successfully thwarted an attempt to sell a 45-day-old baby girl and arrested four individuals, including the infant's mother, on Wednesday.
Acting on reliable information, the police used a decoy customer to approach the accused, who had arranged to meet near a hotel in Kalyan, located on the outskirts of Mumbai. On Tuesday, the infant’s mother and three other accomplices met the decoy and demanded Rs 4 lakh for the baby. After the money was handed over, the police swiftly moved in and arrested the four suspects.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Vaishali Kishore Sonawane (35), Deepali Anil Dusing (27), Rekha Balu Sonawane (32), the baby’s mother, and Kishore Ramesh Sonawane (34). Police revealed that Rekha, the infant’s mother, was a beggar struggling to survive.
The baby and her 5-year-old brother were placed in a shelter in Dombivli, while her two sisters, aged 9 and 7, were sent to ‘Nila Balsadan’ in Ambernath. Rekha told the police that her husband had left her for another woman, leaving her financially desperate. She admitted to trying to sell the infant due to her dire situation.