It was the local residents of the town who became suspicious when they found out that the couple had a brand new iPhone and reported the matter to the police.
A couple from Barrakpore area of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal allegedly sold their eight-month-old son to buy an iPhone, police said. The couple, identified as Jaydev Ghosh and Sathi, wanted to shoot some reels after buying an expensive phone, they added.
Besides the infant, they have a seven-year-old daughter, it is learnt. The police have arrested the mother and the woman who bought the baby, officials said. The infant’s father is on the run and a search is on to nab him.
A senior officer at Barrakpore Police Station said that the couple’s son had been missing since Saturday, but they had not lodged any complaint with the police. It was the local residents of the town who got suspicious when they found out that the couple had a new iPhone and reported the matter to the police.
“After interrogation, the mother admitted to the crime and informed that she and her husband wanted to use the money to travel to the state so they could create content for Instagram reels,” said the official.
The police rescued the infant from Priyanka Ghosh, a resident of Khardah in the same district.
The father also tried to sell his seven-year-old daughter, but the plan failed, police said.