A tragic case from Punjab has shocked the nation as a couple allegedly sold their 6-month-old baby for ₹1.8 lakh to fund their drug addiction. The incident exposes the devastating grip of substance abuse and the urgent need for stronger anti-drug measures and family welfare intervention in the state.
Punjab Couple Arrested for Selling Infant to Fund Drug Habit
A shocking case of alleged human trafficking in Punjab has led to the arrest of a couple and a scrap dealer after a six-month-old infant was reportedly sold for ₹1.8 lakh. The Mansa district police acted after a complaint and recovered the child, who has been placed in Sri Anant Anath Ashram, a state-approved orphanage in Nathana village, Bathinda. The case is being investigated under human-trafficking provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Police identified the parents as Sandeep Singh and Gurman Kaur, residents of Akbarpur Khudal. Investigators say the couple, both unemployed and struggling with drug addiction, admitted they sold their six-month-old son to a scrap dealer’s family in Budhlada for ₹1.8 lakh because they could not raise the child. Locals and relatives told reporters the couple spent the money on drugs and household needs. Authorities say an “adoption deed” was even signed to mask the transaction.
The scrap dealer, Sanju Singh, and his wife Aarti have been named in the FIR; Aarti is yet to be arrested. The complaint that triggered the probe came from Gurman’s elder sister, who informed police about the sale. Following the media coverage, the Punjab Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to the Mansa SSP asking for recovery details and a report by October 31, and the child welfare committee has taken custody pending further action.
