Mumbai: No bail to 54-year-old woman caught selling baby

Mumbai: A sessions court on Saturday rejected the second successive bail plea of a 54-year-old woman allegedly caught red-handed in 2023 while attempting to sell a newborn baby for Rs 5 lakh. The court held that the gravity of human trafficking charges and the accused's direct involvement outweighed her plea for parity with co-accused individuals who had already been granted relief by the Bombay High Court.The case originated in Sept 2023, when Trombay police received a tip-off regarding a child sale in Mankhurd. During a trap involving panch witnesses and a decoy, Sairabano Shaikh was arrested alongwith another woman. Police alleged that Shaikh was caught in the act of handing over the infant in exchange for a bag of cash. Subsequent interrogations revealed a commercial syndicate where the child was to be sold with Shaikh expecting a personal share of Rs 1.5 lakh.