Moneylender arrested for selling borrower’s newborn ‘to earn interest’
Police today arrested a moneylender on charges of selling the newborn baby boy of a woman to earn interest, as her husband failed to repay the interest on a loan in Sadar upazila of Narayanganj.
Moneylender Lucky Akhter (26) was arrested from Aliganj PW Staff Quarter this morning after the victim, Rani Begum (28), filed a case under Human Trafficking Act against four people with Fatuallah Police Station yesterday, said Nazmul Hasan, additional superintendent of Narayanganj police.
Lucky, her husband Hazrat Ali, and Ranu Begum (40), who bought the baby, were accused in the case, the police official told our Narayanganj correspondent.
"After receiving a complaint of selling the child, police conducted a raid and rescued the child from Dakkhin Pasha village of Munshiganj last night. At this time, Ranu Begum was arrested," said additional SP.
During primary interrogation, Ranu told the police that she had purchased the child from Lucky Begum for Tk 65,000. However, the child's mother was not there at the time.
According to the case statement, two years earlier, Rani's husband Falan Choukidar, who hailed from Patuakhali with wife and children, took Tk 5,000 as loan from moneylender Lucky Akhter without informing his wife.
Last year, Falan went into hiding when the amount of the compound interest increased several times, and Lucky and her husband beat him mercilessly for the money.
Later, the moneylender forced Rani to repay the loan and appointed her forcibly for household work in their house without salary for the interest.
Although Rani repaid Tk 2.10 lakh in cash but the moneylender demanded Tk 1.03 lakh of compound interest and tortured her.
On April 4 last year, Rani gave birth to a baby boy at the house of Lucky but the moneylender sold Rani's child to Ranu Begum without informing her, added the case statement.
Talking to the correspondent, Rani said Lucky husband's held a government job and police maintained their instruction.
"So I couldn't disclose the matter to anyone out of fear. Even if I tried to talk to outsiders, Lucky would beat me and make threats. I requested them many times to meet the child but they didn't give me the address," said Rani.
On Sunday, when Lucky's husband beat a man in the colony for money and later went into hiding, she got the courage to complain to police, added the victim.
Additional SP Nazmul Hasan said Lucky Begum was arrested this morning but her husband Hazrat Ali is absconding. Efforts are on to arrest him.
Lucky and Ranu were produced before Narayanganj court this noon, said the police official.
Later, Ranu Begum confessed to the crime and gave a confessional statement before the court under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
The court also placed Lucky on one day remand while Ranu Begum was sent to jail, he added.
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