MUMBAI: Two women were arrested for allegedly trying to sell a newborn girl for Rs4.5 lakh in Sion, police said on Tuesday. The social service (SS) branch of Mumbai Police apprehended Julia Fernandez (35) and Shabana Shaikh (30) while they were trying to sell the 15-day-old infant at a nursing home at Gandhi Market on Sunday, an official said.
Police said Jayprakash Jadhav, with an adoption centre in Pune, got information that a woman from Mumbai wanted to sell a newborn and he alerted the woman & child welfare authorities in Pune. Mumbai Police were informed and the SS branch set a trap. During a telephone call, Fernandez demanded Rs4.5 lakh, of which Rs4 lakh was to be given to the biological parents of the infant, while rest were her charges, the official said.
Fernandez told the complainant to come to the nursing home. When he reached with a woman constable posing as his wife, the infant was brought out and as soon as money was handed over, the two were nabbed. pti
