To pay off debt,couple try to sell two-month-old child

Police said Durgesh (21) was employed at a marriage bureau agency in Pitampura. About a year ago,he had borrowed Rs 20,000 from his boss,Arun Aggarwal,before leaving for his hometown in Madhya Pradesh. At the same time,he entered into a relationship and married Reshma.

Police said that a few months later,Reshma became pregnant. According to police,Durgesh used to fret over how he would sustain the family and still pay off the debt. “But later,he decided against abortion and asked her to bear the child anyway. They could clear their debt by selling the baby,he told her,” a senior police officer said.

Durgesh discussed the plan with Aggarwal and Jain,who agreed to assist him. When the time for delivery approached,he called Aarti,a midwife,and allegedly arranged for the delivery to be conducted at home. “Chauhan did not take Resh-ma to a hospital because he did not want the authorities to register the child’s birth.”

The woman gave birth to a male child two months ago,after which the accused began looking for potential customers. The couple had pegged the price of the child at Rs 1 lakh,so they could pay off their debt and still have some funds to fall back on.

Their plans,however,came a cropper when the station house officer of Mandir Marg received a tip-off,following which a team was constituted to nab the five.

The couple was called to Birla Mandir,and woman police officer was sent to the area as a decoy customer. The accused were caught red-handed from the spot,police said.