Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), May 24 (IANS): The Mathura police have detained a "mentally unstable" woman for allegedly trying to sell her 5-year-old daughter for Rs 500.

This is not her first attempt at selling. Seven years back she apparently sold her eldest child and herself to a man for Rs 40,000. Now he is her husband.

Both the younger daughters of the woman have been taken into custody by the district administration and sent to government's child shelter home after conducting their medical examination on the orders of the Child Welfare committee Mathura.

The committee has also marked an inquiry by Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Mathura after learning that the woman had allegedly sold her elder daughter to a resident of Punjab, six years ago.

Snehlata Chaturvedi, member of Child welfare committee, said, "We are investigating the case and if anyone is found guilty, legal action will be taken."

District Coordinator of Child Line, Narendra Parihar told reporters that they got a call on their toll free number 1098 on Saturday evening that a woman, identifying herself Rajveer Kaur, was trying to sell her younger daughter for Rs 500.

A 3-member team immediately reached the spot and took them to Farah police station. After completing all the formalities, they took the girls to the community health centre for medical check up where a Covid test was also conducted on Sunday.

After the girls tested negative, they were sent to the government child shelter home.

Some mobile number was found in woman's bag and when the police contacted one of the numbers, a person who identified himself as Jassa Singh said that he is from Punjab and the woman is his wife who has been missing with the girls for the past four-five months.

He also told them he had bought the woman with her elder daughter, who is now 7-year-old, for Rs 40,000 almost 6 years back.

The police said that Singh is coming to Mathura to join the investigations.

The matter is now being investigated from the human trafficking angle.