Two held in baby-selling racket targeting pregnant women | Kochi News – The Times of India

Jul 28, 2026, 22:08 IST

Kottayam: Police have arrested two people in connection with an alleged baby-selling racket that lured pregnant women from other states to Kerala, promising them safe adoption placements before allegedly attempting to sell the newborns.

Muppili Raja, 27, from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu and Arjun K S, 21, from Vagamon were arrested by Erattupetta police following a complaint from a 22-year-old pregnant woman from Assam. Both accused have been booked under multiple BNS sections on wrongful confinement and human trafficking.

Police said Raja’s wife, Aparna, is Arjun’s sister, and the trio had been camping in Erattupetta for the past two months. Investigators are probing whether the racket brought pregnant women from other states to Kerala under the guise of adoption assistance, with the intention of selling the infants after delivery.

The district police chief had begun the probe after receiving a complaint.

Police said the complainant — who has an 18-month-old daughter and was seven months pregnant with her second child — had faced pressure from her husband and in-laws in Hosur to terminate the pregnancy. She refused and travelled to Delhi, where she took shelter with an NGO with a friend’s help. She subsequently shared her situation on Instagram, saying she wanted to keep her child.

While searching Instagram for adoption-related NGOs, a person contacted her, identifying himself as Karthik. After reviewing her scan reports and documents, she was allegedly given ₹2,000 and a train ticket to travel to Kottayam.

She reached Kottayam on July 16 and was taken by bus to Erattupetta, then by autorickshaw to an isolated rented house in a rubber plantation in Theekoy, where she stayed for about 10 days, police said. Investigators are examining whether other pregnant women were also lodged at the same location.

Police said the woman grew suspicious when she realised the operation was not a legitimate adoption agency and that the accused were allegedly attempting to buy her unborn child and sell her after that. When she protested, she was allegedly assaulted and thrown out of the house. She then approached passers-by for directions and reached Erattupetta police station, where she filed a complaint.

Police moved her to a shelter home in Kottayam, and following a formal complaint to the district police chief, she was later shifted to Mahila Mandiram in Kallara. Pala DSP Sadan K has been assigned to lead the investigation, as directed by the district police chief.