In Mumbai, buy a baby boy in seven days for 2 lakhs

Mangalore Today / NDTV

Mumbai, Feb 20:  In an explosive sting operation that lasted for about a week, MiD DAY blows the lid off a thriving baby-selling racket in the city, in which infants are sold like commodities for Rs. 2-3 lakh.

Two MiD DAY reporters posed as a couple and approached the syndicate   operating out of the innocuous, even respectable, setting of an orphanage for disabled kids in the far suburb of Ulhasnagar. At the end of the seven days, a six-day-old male child was sold to the undercover scribes for Rs. 2.30 lakh, with zero paperwork and no waiting time.

 

 

A resort for innumerable childless couples in this city desperate to enjoy the joys of parenthood without the hassle of the long-winded legal adoption process, the orphanage offers many options for the illegal transaction.

The easiest of these is pay the cash and take the child home within a week, bypassing the interminable waits (anywhere over 2 years) and the extensive documentation required to establish your credentials and financial status. All one needs do is produce an identity proof -- authenticity no bar -- and the alleged racketeers hand over the child along with the birth certificate with your name on it.

The babies are procured from marginalised couples, who perforce or willingly, sell their offspring for a few thousand rupees: the promise of square meals or some extra money is enough to induce the poor women into being exploited and making reproduction their trade. While they get a minimum amount, the few employees abetting the illicit trade pocket a major share of the rewards.

The kingpin of the racket has been supplying newborns to builders, businessmen and other affluent people across the state, deprived of natural parenthood.

Other than the straightforward purchase, the alleged offenders offer the alternative of surrogacy at the price of Rs. 10 lakh. The surrogacy option included choosing to establish sexual contact with a woman who would then bear the child in her womb, rather than the more traditional IVF (in-vitro fertilisation). For this, the rate card is contingent on the financial standing of the customer, and the demands of the surrogate mother. She may ask that her accommodation and medical expenses be borne till the time she delivers, other than her fee of a couple of lakhs.



Adopting a baby legally

Legally adopting a child is a long-drawn-out process, where at every step the eligibility of the couple wishing to adopt a child is tested. It requires many documents:

1 Residence proof
2 Bank account statements
3 Photographs of the couple
4 Medical certificates, tests, which include HIV tests
5 Salary slips
6 Three letters of guarantee from friends, but not family, of the couple
7 Two Doctors’ certificates: one from a family doctor, another from a gynaecologist
8 One letter from a guardian, who promises to take care of the child, if it is a working couple
9  A letter from a family member promising to take care of the child if the parents pass away before the child turns 18.
 
The process

First, the couple is asked whether they would prefer to adopt a boy or a girl. Then, they are asked to submit the above documents.

A social worker visits the couple’s house, and interviews them to gauge the authenticity of their claims and to know if they will be good parents. After the social worker’s nod, the couple is allotted a child according to the availability.

The age of the child depends on the age of the parents. It is the sole discretion of the charity organisation as to which child to be allotted. If the couple doesn’t like the child, they have to provide ample reason why they are saying no. The organisation ensures that the child has gone through all medical tests. The couple is asked to get the child tested by their own doctor for further assurance. Then the legal process starts. It takes at least three months for the couple to take the child home.
 
Monetary considerations

Some organisations do not accept any money but ask for a mandatory deposit of about Rs. 20,000-50,000 in the child’s name. Some organisations ask the aspiring parents to pay a nominal amount of Rs. 50 per day of the period that the child was with the orphanage, plus medical expenses, if any, borne by the orphanage during the child’s stay there.