Five Women Held For Trying To Sell, Buy Infant In Punjab's Ludhiana
The child was born to a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh and a deal to sell her for Rs 2.10 lakh was struck, said police.
Published : February 16, 2026 at 4:27 PM IST
Ludhiana: Punjab Police on Monday arrested five women for attempting to sell and buy a newborn for Rs 2.10 lakh.
The child's mother, an ASHA worker and the woman who tried to buy the child, along with two others have been arrested, said police. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Sameer Verma said, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh, Sunita Devi, who resides in Sherpur Kalan, Ludhiana gave birth to a baby girl on February 13 at Arora Nursing Hospital in the city.
"Sunita Devi did not want to keep the baby girl and asked an ASHA worker, engaged at the the hospital, to sell the newborn. The ASHA worker then spoke to Dr Manmeet Kaur, who informed her friend Ruchi of the matter. Ruchi then spoke to Mandeep Kaur, a resident of Moga who does not have any children. Mandeep allegedly agreed to pay Rs 2.10 lakh for the infant. Of the amount, Rs 1.5 lakh was to be given to the biological mother, while Rs 60,000 was allegedly meant to be distributed as commission among intermediaries," Verma said.
On February 15, the accused gathered at a park on Neela Jhanda Road to complete the handover. However, the suspicious circumstances and the child’s cries drew public attention following which police was informed.
The police have arrested five accused so far. Officials said the role of the doctor at the nursing home where the child was delivered is also under scrutiny. The police have registered a case under sections of human trafficking. Verma said three more individuals involved in the deal are yet to be arrested.
"Five accused have been arrested in the case of selling the newborn girl and a manhunt has been launched to nab the rest three," he said. The ADCP said, "The role of the child's father will also be investigated and appropriate action will be taken as per investigation".
He said the police are further investigating the a other links as to who these children were sold to next? Where were the children being taken next?" He said that this is the subject of investigation. At present, we are looking into all the links. The search is on for the remaining accused, from whom many more revelations are expected."
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