Mother and woman arrested for selling a 20-day-old infant for one hundred thousand rupees

In connection with the alleged incident of a twenty-day-old infant being sold for one hundred thousand rupees in the Pallama, Kammandaluwa area, the twenty-five-year-old mother who gave birth to the child, the woman who bought the child, and several others have been arrested by officers of the Puttalam Divisional Criminal Investigation Unit. Police state that this group of suspects was apprehended following a lengthy investigation conducted based on a confidential tip-off.

According to police investigations, this young mother had been in a relationship with a person addicted to excessive alcohol consumption, and they had been suffering from severe economic hardships. Due to their inability to financially care for the child to be born, they decided to sell the child to another party for an agreed sum, planning this even before the birth. Accordingly, after giving birth, the mother proceeded to hand over the infant to another party.

The infant, who was thus obtained for money, was taken in by a woman residing in the Madurankuliya, Kadayamottei area, who has been married for over eighteen years but has no children. Police investigations have also revealed that this child transaction was carried out by the woman's husband, who paid the aforementioned sum of one hundred thousand rupees.

Police point out that this child was exchanged for money in complete violation of the legal adoption procedures existing in Sri Lanka, and for this reason, the biological mother of the child, the woman who bought the child, and several others involved in this act have been arrested. Further investigations into the incident are being carried out by the Puttalam Divisional Criminal Investigation Unit.