Indian police have busted a baby-selling racket by arresting five people including a doctor in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, The Times of India reported Tuesday.
The report said police in Madhya Pradesh's provincial capital Bhopal received information that newborn babies were being sold to childless couples by the Shanti Super Specialty Hospital.
Baby boys were sold by the hospital for 35,000 rupees (740 dollars) while infant girls fetched a price of about 30,000 rupees (640 dollars), the report said.
On being tipped off about the racket, the police sent two officers to the hospital disguised as a couple interested in buying a baby.
After negotiations, the couple was informed two weeks later that a baby girl would be available for 30,000 rupees, the report said.
The police couple then went to the hospital followed by a team of uniformed officers, who caught five people after the "sale" of the baby girl was completed.
The superintendent of the hospital and the baby's biological father were among those arrested, although the mother managed to escape, the report said.
It was not known how many babies had been sold in the racket -- AFP
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