Vijayawada: A 13-day-old girl was sold for Rs 1.10 lakh as her mother could not afford to bring her up since she has two daughters.
A woman named Nallapotula Sai Lakshmi, 22, of Gollapalem Gattu, sold the baby to Guduru Lalitha and M. Jyothi. The deal to sell the baby was closed when Sai Lakshmi got pregnant, II-Town circle inspector Murali Krishna said.
Lalitha and Jyothi deposited Rs 50,000 each on Sai Lakshmi’s daughters and paid her Rs 10,000. Lalitha tried to buy the infant for her sister, who did not have a baby after 17 years of marriage.
An Anganwadi worker, Durga Bhavani noticed that Ms Lakshmi was breastfeeding a baby which later went missing and was not bringing the infant with her to her house.
She informed officials of the Integrated Child Development Services and the police. “The infant was handed over to Childline. A case was filed against the mother and the two women who purchased the infant,” said the police.