Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)
Puttur, Nov 29: Police from Uppinangady have rescued an orphaned child that was found to be under the care of three youngsters who had hired a house for the purpose, on Monday November 28. There is suspicion that this child would have been stolen by a gang active in child trafficking. The three young men also were taken into custody.
The police got information that the male child, aged 58 days, was being looked after by three persons in a rented house at Perne village. The police found out the whereabouts of the child, which was accompanied by hospital card about its birth details. The youngsters caring for the child told the police that they had agreed to look after the child at the request of its father, as the baby's mother is on a visit to her hometown, Nepal. Police personnel are investigating the case to find out whether what they are claiming is true.
Muhammed Udaif (28) from Bengaluru, Siyab (24) from Hirebandady, and Sameer (21) also from Hirebandady, are the three men to have been taken into custody. They had hired a house on Monday morning, after which they had brought the child unaccompanied by parents in a car bearing Tamil Nadu registration number.
Naturally questions like how did the child come into the custody of the young men and whether they can nurture the child in the absence of its mother, have arisen in the case. Some suspect that a racket involved with child trafficking might be at work.
After some locals conveyed suspicion about the child living with the young men, Uppinangady police sub-inspector, Ratan Kumar, went to the spot, took the child and three men into custody and interrogated the men. As per the hospital card issued at Bengaluru, name of the father of the baby has been mentioned as Jalaluddin and that of mother, Karishma. The police are yet to check veracity of this hospital card.
Udaif told the police that the mother of the child left for Nepal on Sunday, and her husband was unable to care for the child. He said that at the request of the baby's father, he brought the child to a friend's house in Dakshina Kannada district. As that house is frequented by relatives, it was decided to rent a house to look after the baby, he explained.
Police have certain doubts in the case like desertion of such a small baby by its mother to visit parental home, handing over the child to the care of youth who are relatively unknown, how did the birth card of the hospital come into the possession of the three men etc. The policemen want to verify the genuineness of the card before conducting further investigation, as there is likelihood of creation of fake card to show as proof in case of investigation.
The department plans to hand over the child to the care of child protection officer till all doubts are cleared and the child reaches the hands of its parents.