West Bengal: Couple sells 8-month-old son to buy iPhone for making reels
Kolkata, Jul 28: A couple allegedly sold their eight-month-old son in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district to buy an iPhone for making reels, police said on Friday.
The incident happened in Panihati's Ganganagar area near Kolkata, and police said they have already arrested the mother and are looking for the father who is on the run.
The incident came to light after locals got suspicious of the couple as they could not see the baby for weeks, and reported the matter to the police, a senior officer said.
"We have arrested the mother and started looking for the father who has been absconding after the incident was reported to us. The couple sold the infant to someone, and purchased an iPhone 14 to make reels (short video clips for social media)," he told PTI.
"The mother has also admitted that they spent the money that was earned by selling the baby to travel to places like Digha and Mandarmoni," he added.
The incident happened a month ago, but was reported to the police on July 24, the officer said.
"We have started an investigation and are looking for the father," he said.
The mother is being interrogated, police said, adding that they are also searching for the couple who bought the baby.
"We will also book them as this is illegal," the officer said.
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Four held for Rs 6.79 cr loot at Mumbai jewellery shop; thermal drones used to scan forest hideouts
Mumbai (PTI): Four persons were arrested after an intense 48-day manhunt deep inside the forests of Rajasthan for allegedly stealing jewellery worth Rs 6.79 crore from a shop in north Mumbai, a police official said on Monday.
The theft of gold, silver and diamonds from the safe of complainant Sanket Porwal's shop in IC Colony in Borival West took place in January, the MHB police station official said.
"Our probe found that shop employees Prabhu Singh and Narayan Singh allegedly used a duplicate key to unlock the safe and flee with the valuables. Technical analysis traced them to Rajasthan, following which a team went there. The trail eventually led investigators to the dense forest regions of Rajsamand district in the western state," he said.
The accused avoided staying in villages and continued to move deeper into the forest to avoid arrest, the official said. They also kept moving from Rajsamand to Chittorgarh, Sardargarh and Pali districts, he added.
"For 48 days, police officers camped in the jungles, relying on human intelligence and advanced surveillance techniques. Thermal drones were used to scan forest zones where the accused were suspected to be hiding. Further probe revealed the involvement of others identified as Ganpat Singh, Kishan Singh and Mod Singh," he said.
One key accused was traced to a temple located deep inside a forest near Muwariya village in Rajsamand district, while two others were picked up from Kuwariya village based on a tip off, the official added.
Three kilograms of gold worth Rs 4.5 crore as well as five kilograms of silver worth Rs 15 lakh have been seized, and efforts are on to recover the remaining loot, he said.
