Police who are probing the alleged trafficking of a newborn by its parents said they have located the address where the child was “delivered”.
But the “new parents” could not be located till late Wednesday, an officer in Baruipur police district said on Wednesday.
The police said “locating the baby and rescuing it is our priority” at this moment.
“We have got the name of the person who took the delivery of the baby after its parents took money for parting with it,” said the deputy superintendent (district enforcement branch), Baruipur police, Mohit Mollah.
The Telegraph had reported on Wednesday that a newborn had allegedly been sold for Rs 2 lakh through a woman — something that came into the public domain when the couple and the woman, who allegedly struck a deal, got involved in an altercation over money in a public place.
Both the infant’s parents and the woman are in police remand at present.
Officers attached to the probe said that based on the information from the child’s parents and the woman, they have zeroed in on the house where the child was “delivered”.
“The house falls under the jurisdiction of Kolkata police. But the person who took the child to the address is not in Kolkata now. We are looking for him to rescue the child,” said an officer of Narendrapur police station.
The child was born in February in a nursing home at Usthi, the police said. Usthi is a remote village in South 24-Parganas, almost 37km from Narendrapur where the child’s parents live.
“We are in the process of gathering more information about the child’s parents and medical records to see if this was the first time that the mother had given birth,” the officer added.
A senior officer of Baruipur police district said it was important to find out if this was part of a child trafficking racket or a one-of-a-stray case where a couple had sold their child — unaware of the legal implications involved.
Many couples find it difficult to raise a child and hand over their kid to relatives or friends for better upkeep of the child. However, the moment the parents start accepting money against handing over their child amounts to human trafficking and is culpable under the law.