Police rescued a six-month-old boy who was allegedly sold for Tk3,000 and detained three people from the capital’s Badda area on Friday.
“Based on information from locals, we recovered the boy from a residence in Boithakhali, Badda on Friday noon, and detained a couple and an associate for their involvement in the incident,” Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Badda police station, told the Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
The detainees were identified as Abul Kashem and his wife, Monowar Begum, and their associate, Kalpana. However, they were later released after giving statements, and allowed to return home with the child pending an investigation.
The officer said local residents got suspicious when they suddenly saw the couple with a baby, who looked very different from them.
During questioning, the suspects allegedly told police that the boy did not belong to them, and they got him for only Tk3,000 from a woman _ who claimed to be a foreigner _ in the city’s airport area, Iqbal said.
“Primarily, we are suspecting that the boy might have been sold for trafficking,” the officer said. “We have sent messages to different police stations to trace his real mother.”
“We hope the mystery of the case will be solved after finding the original mother. Until then, the boy will stay with the couple, but we are keeping an eye on them,” he added.
