Indian man arrested for selling baby grandson via Facebook

Police in the Indian state of Punjab today arrested three people involved in selling a baby grandson of one of the suspects, local media report.

Feroz Khan from Ludhiana city kidnapped the newborn son of his divorced daughter Noori whom he lied about the infant’s death.
The man then sold the baby boy to a hospital worker for 45,000 rupees (830 dollars). The latter resold the child for 300,000 rupees (5,500 dollars) to a lab staff named Gurprit Singh from the same clinic.

Mr. Singh contacted a buyer, a Delhi businessman, on Facebook offering him to pay 800 rupees (14,700 dollars) for the baby.
Noori suspected foul play when she noticed her father had somehow come by a large sum of money and alerted police, who seized the culprits and returned the child to his mother.

The Delhi businessman hasn’t been found yet. All the accused have been charged with kidnapping and can face up to seven years behind bars.

In 2011, India’s police admitted there were over 800 gangs in the country involved in the kidnapping of children for prostitution and begging across India.