Woman, agent buy 6-month-old infant under registered deed

RANCHI: A woman and an agent were arrested for allegedly buying a six-month-old baby girl under a registered deed on a `20 stamp paper in Ranchi, police said on Saturday, bringing to the fore the high incidence of human trafficking in Jharkhand.

The state is blighted by large-scale child trafficking and forced surrogacy rackets, primarily exploiting the tribal community. Jharkhand accounts for the supply of at least 30,000 trafficked children as bonded labourers across the country every year, civil society organisations said.

“We have not come across any such case before in Ranchi. The modus operandi, however, is subject to investigation,” Ranchi superintendent of police Jaya Rai said.“The agents might have fooled the baby’s mother by showing her the signed stamp paper,” activist Baijnath Kumar said.The case may just be the tip of the iceberg, activists fear.

Since the mothers are paid in the range of ` 15,000 to `50,000 for such agreements, the signed stamp paper proves a deterrent from approaching police or demanding the child back, Kumar said.The alleged purchaser, Neetu Gupta of Ranchi, and the agent who facilitated the deal, Kanchan Sahu of Lohardaga, were arrested and the baby taken in police custody.

Gayatri Devi, the infant’s mother, comes from a humble background. In her statement, Devi told police she was forced to sign on the stamp paper by the agent.