Udupi: Udupi police have arrested a local doctor and a resident for their alleged involvement in an illegal adoption and child trafficking racket involving a one-month-old baby girl. The arrested are Dr K Surendra Kamath, 76, a resident of Bannanje, and S Prakash, 50, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, Nejaru.Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said a supervisor from Brahmavar Child Development Project Office (CDPO) on June 19 alerted the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) about a couple from Nejaru in Santhekatte — Prakash and Poornima — allegedly raising a baby girl without legal adoption procedures.The child protection officer, officials from the DCPU, along with a supervisor from the Brahmavar CDPO, visited the couple’s house at Subramanya Nagar in Santhekatte. The team found the couple, the infant, and Poornima’s sister Lakshmi during their visit. During interrogation, the couple reportedly provided suspicious accounts of how they acquired the child. Investigations revealed that Prakash and Purnima had been married for 11 years without children and had been undergoing treatment at Kamath Nursing Home in Udupi, the SP said.Lakshmi allegedly learned through a friend that a baby was available at the hospital. When the couple approached the hospital and requested a child, Dr K Surendra Kamath allegedly handed over the baby girl to the couple about a month ago and facilitated the issuance of a birth certificate, which the couple obtained from Udupi City Municipal Council. They admitted they had no knowledge of the child’s biological parents.The SP said the accused, for earning illegal profits, conspired to create fake birth certificates and parental documents. Based on a complaint filed by the child protection officer, the women’s police Station registered a case under sections 143(4), 61, 318(2) read with 3(5) of the BNS and Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice Act, he said, adding efforts are on to arrest two other accused persons involved in the case.
