Vadodara: An infant who was kidnapped six days ago from a hut in a village in Waghodia taluka in Vadodara district has been traced to Bihar, where he was allegedly sold to an army man for Rs 4 lakh.
The police have detained six people, including a local resident of the village who knows the child’s family. The person, an acquaintance of the baby’s family, is accused of conspiring to sell the child to a childless couple in Bihar.
Sudhir Desai, superintendent of police, said, ‘Using human intelligence, we found that one Kalpesh Rathod had sold the baby to army jawan Narendra Ranjan for Rs 4 lakh. We detained Rathod and conducted a detailed interrogation. He revealed that Ranjan had contacted Rathod to find him a baby he could buy, offering Rs 4 lakh for the child.’
According to the police, Kalpesh Rathod contacted Pravin Chunara, who in turn contacted Kalidas Devipujak, a local resident of the village. Devipujak informed the accused of a new baby in the village, spurring him to plan the kidnapping.
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The baby was kidnapped by Devipujak and co-accused Raman Rathod at 2 am on October 20, while the family was sleeping in their hut. The baby was given to Kalpesh Rathod, who then took it to Ranjan. ‘We have sent a team to Bihar to bring back the baby. The accused army jawan will be arrested. We have detained Kalpesh Rathod, Pravin Chunara, Kalidas Devipujak, and Raman Rathod in Vadodara. They will be booked under appropriate sections for kidnapping and also under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 that has laid down provisions against sale and purchase of children,’ Desai told The Indian Express.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 includes punishments for child sales and procurements for any purpose, including illegal adoptions.
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