In a startling development, a mother-daughter pair from Bihar has been apprehended in Coimbatore for their alleged involvement in child abduction and trafficking.
Poonam Devi, aged 61, and her daughter Neha Kumari, aged 21, were detained by the Coimbatore police following a tip-off regarding their participation in a child trafficking operation.
Earlier on June 3, a couple, M. Maheshkumar, 34, and his wife M. Anjalikumari, 24, were arrested after Child Line alerted the authorities about their suspected involvement in child trafficking. It was revealed during the investigation that the couple had sold a seven-day-old female child to D. Vijayan, a 48-year-old farmer from Lakshminaickenpalayam near Sulur, for ₹2.5 lakh, and another male child to a truck driver in Andhra Pradesh two years prior.
The police rescued the boy from Andhra Pradesh on June 3 and the girl the subsequent day, leading to Vijayan’s arrest on June 8. The couple confessed that Poonam Devi and Neha Kumari had provided them with the children.
According to police sources, the mother-daughter duo had been operating this scheme for several years, targeting vulnerable children from impoverished backgrounds. Authorities have announced that a comprehensive investigation is currently underway to ascertain whether the four individuals from Bihar were involved in the abduction and sale of more children in Tamil Nadu and other regions.
