A private hospital in India has been uncovered for trafficking unwanted babies, buying and selling them on for approximately £1,000.
The ‘baby farm’ has been used to take in ‘illegitimate’ newborns and babies conceived through rape, housing them until a buyer comes along. Babies were also swapped within the hospital, with some parents tragically trading in their baby daughters for boys.
The trafficking incident came to light to local authorities after they were tipped off on Saturday, leading to a police raid of the hospital that evening.
The private hospital’s director, TK Gupta has been charged along with four other employees.
They’ve been charged with ‘buying or disposing of any person as slave, habitual dealing in slaves and buying minors for the purpose of prostitution.’
Police have recused two of the babies so far from the hospital in Gwailor, though the Palash Hospitals carries space for as many as 30 little ones, meaning it’s unsure how many baby have come in and out of the unauthorised ‘adoption’ centre.
A police officer shed more light of the grim reality of what was happening between the four walls, saying: “When a girl or her parents approached them for termination of pregnancies, doctors at this hospital used to convince them not to, assuring them of a safe and secret delivery.
“Once the baby is delivered and the mother gets discharged, hospital authorities start hunting for gullible couples who could buy them.”
Speaking to the Times of India, Prateek Kumar, from the ASP crime branch stated: “Three others have been sold to childless couples in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.”
Now the search continues to find the people who bought or sold their babies in the Palash Hospital.