Chennai, Feb 17 (IANS): Nine people, including the mother of a one-year-old girl, were arrested on Thursday for selling the baby to a childless couple in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu.

The baby girl was sold to a childless couple in Madurai for Rs 2.30 lakh, police said.

Twenty five-year-old Kalaiselvi, who was staying at Sevalpatti after the demise of her husband Murugan, colluded with

one Karuppusamy (58) and sold her one-year-old baby to the childless couple.

The Virudhunagar child line received a call at 12.35 p.m. on Wednesday stating that a one-month-old baby girl was sold to a childless couple. The Childline coordinator, Guruswamy asked a field worker Murugan to look into the complaint.

Murugan, along with a social worker of the District Child Protection Unit, Karthigairaja, went to the house where Kalaiselvi was staying and found that the anonymous call received by the Virudhunagar childline was true and that the child was sold to a childless couple at Madurai.

The Childline worker and the DCPU social worker informed Kooraikundu VAO, Subbulakshmi who filed an official complaint to the Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police.

The police team led by Virudhunagar Police Superintendent, Manoharan, DSP Archana, and Soolarkarai police inspector S. Vinayagam interrogated Kalaiselvi.

On interrogation of the woman, police team found that a gang masquerading as marriage brokers were behind selling the child. The police rushed to Jaihindupuram in Madurai and rescued the baby.

The police arrested Karuppusamy, Kalasielvi, Mariamma and Maheswari who acted as agents, the childless couple who bought the baby girl, and three other people who were acting as marriage brokers.

Soolarkarai police inspector S. Vinayagam told IANS: "We have arrested nine people including the mother of the child and the agents concerned as well as the childless couple who bought the child. More interrogation of the accused is necessary to find out whether they had conducted similar business earlier."