April 26, 2019:

A day after an audio clip surfaced on social media of a retired nurse striking a deal with a potential customer to sell newborn babies in Tamil Nadu, state Health Secretary Beela Rajesh on Thursday directed the Namakkal district collector to investigate the case. The retired nurse, who has been identified as Amutha, was detained by Rasipuram police officials.

In the audio, Amutha, a voluntarily retired nurse from a government hospital, can be heard boasting to a potential customer about how actively she had been involved in this business over the years. She allegedly served as a middleman in selling newborn babies over the past 30 years.

“I have been doing this business for 30 years. By God’s grace, I haven’t faced any problems. Pay me as much as you can as an advance, I will Whatsapp you the baby’s picture,” she says.

In the audio, the man from Dharmapuri says he needs a baby and is fine with both male or female. To this, the woman says the price differs from a male to a female child and the skin tone of the baby also plays a crucial role.

“If you need a girl, then the price would be Rs 2.70 lakh. If the baby is close to three kilos, then the price would go up to Rs 3 lakh. If you need an Amul baby (a fat male baby with whitish complexion), then the price would range from Rs 4 – 4.15 lakh. If the baby is darker, then the price may reduce to Rs 3.30 – 3.75 lakh,” she says.

“For an additional cost of Rs 70,000, I can get you the original birth certificate. We can make as if the child was born to you here in Rasipuram. The municipal authorities will forge the document and they will upload it online,” she adds.

Police have acknowledged that many gangs in the locality have been actively carrying out this business. “No one came forward to complain about it. They even abduct the babies from northern states to sell here for a higher price. The gangs also have a tie-up with many NGOs who help them identify the couples who are in need of a baby and serve them as a middleman to the couples who wanted to sell their babies,” media reports quoted police as saying.

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