Mysuru, Dec 26 (DHNS): Deserted by her husband and with no one to take care of her, a 21-year-old woman attempted to sell her three-month-old male infant to a childless couple for as little as Rs 25,000.

Seema Banu, a resident of Ghousia Nagar here, was coaxed into selling the baby by a child broker named Mumtaz who promised to help in her remarriage.

The buyers were Rukhsana and Syed Farooque, a childless couple from KP Mohalla, Chamarajanagar. Mumtaz is from KN Pura, Mysuru.

Banu had married Rizwan, a cab driver, four years ago. All was well till a few months ago when Rizwan deserted her. There was no one in Banu’s family to look after her. Her mother was ill and undergoing treatment in Bengaluru. Banu started working at an agarbatti factory. But she found it hard to raise the baby.

She came in contact with Mumtaz who convinced her to sell the baby to a childless couple who could take care of him. Mumtaz also promised to help in her remarriage. Banu agreed. The deal was struck for Rs 25,000. The couple paid her Rs 5,000 as advance. Mumtaz got Rs 1,000 as brokerage.

Just then, the local Udayagiri police got a tip-off. Led by inspector Santosh P P, a police team raided a house near Anwar mosque on Thursday and arrested the four people, besides a man named Shaheebullah who had ferried the couple in his car from Chamarajanagar to Mysuru.

The police have confiscated Banu’s Mother Card, Rs 5,000 in cash and a white paper bearing the signature of witnesses. They named her prime suspect in the case.

Interestingly, the car which ferried the couple to Mysuru was being used by a candidate for canvassing in the upcoming Legislative Council elections from the Mysore-Chamarajanagar local body constituency. The police suspect the car was used to avoid future complications. The baby has been handed over to the Bapuji Children’s Home at Gokulam for care and protection.