Chennai: Taking refuge in a friend’s home turned out to be a regrettable decision for a Vellore-based mother as her physically challenged friend took her infant and tried to sell it. However, the police intervened to rescue the baby and the woman was arrested on Saturday.
According to a police source, Swetha of Sathuvachari in Vellore took asylum at her friend Anbarasi’s (28) house in Mathur near Madhavaram 10 days ago. “Swetha had got into a fight with her husband Dheenadhayalan and left the home with her three-year-old daughter and three-month-old son,” the police added.
She took up a job at a nearby marriage hall to feed her children. In the meantime, Anbarasi had been nudging Swetha to sell off her son in return for a hefty amount, which the mother persistently refused.
Early on Saturday, Swetha left for work and her baby was still asleep. “When she returned home at around 11 am, she found Anbarasi and the baby missing,” the police said.
Swetha frantically searched for her infant son at many places before asking for help from neighbours, who told her that house owner Vadivukarasi (52), her sister Babitha (48) and Anbarasi went out with the baby.
Sensing a plot, Anbarasi filed a complaint with the Madhavaram Milk Colony police station. “As the baby is only three months old, he should be fed with mother’s milk. So we searched for the trio at many places,” a police officer said.
Meanwhile, the police received a tip-off about the trio who had left the baby at the Perumal Temple in Edama Nagar. “The women had come to know about the police hunt and decided to abandon the baby. We found Anbarasi near the temple and arrested her. The baby was rescued,” the police added.
It is learnt that Vadivukarasi is the wife of history-sheeter Maalaikan Selvan, who died a few years ago. Apart from sending Anbarasi to judicial custody, the police also called Dheenadhayalan to the police station and sent Swetha and children with him, after a counselling.
A case has been registered and the police are searching for Vadivukarasi and her sister Babitha. “The identities of the persons who were about to buy the baby will only be known after the arrest of the sisters”, the police said.
