Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod (EP)
Kasargod, May 24: In a shocking incident that came to light long after it happened, two children were allegedly sold by their own parents with the help of middlemen. The police have arrested four persons including the father of the children in this connection. A case has been registered against the mother.
Sulaiman
The other three arrested are said to be the middlemen. The arrested are identified as children's father Sulaiman (48), a resident of Kanhangad south, and middlemen Rashid (23) of Kolavayal, taxi driver Bashir (42) from Iriya who stays in Kundapur at present, and Moidu, a resident of Kanhanghad.
Police team led by Kanhanghad DySP M Pradeep Kumar is investigating the case. The children were reportedly sold one-and-a-half years ago but the incident came to light only two days back after police received definite information about the case.
The two children were reportedly sold for Rs 3.25 lac. It is said that Sulaiman who has married twice has twelve children - eight children from the first wife and four from the second. He allegedly sold a boy and a girl begot from the second wife.
The girl was one-and-a-half years old when sold and the boy was six months old. He had reportedly sold the girl for Rs 1.75 lac and the six-month-old boy for Rs 1.5 lac to two families in Mangalore with the help of middlemen. He had taken assistance of a Mangalore-based advocate for the deal.
Though the police searched for the advocate and the houses in Mangalore, they were unable to locate either of them. It is said that the advocate had taken Rs 25,000 from the middlemen.
The father of the children has admitted that he had sold them for want of money, and so that the children could have a better life and get educated. As his statement seemed contradictory, the police are investigating further. The arrested are being questioned and the police hope to obtain further details later.
Meanwhile, it is learnt the police have arrested another middleman, a Kanhangad resident, and are questioning him.