Noida, March 24 A private hospital in Gautam Buddh Nagar district was sealed on Tuesday after its owner and two staff members were allegedly found involved in the sale of a five-day-old girl, police and health officials said.
A police team arrested the hospital owner, a sanitation worker, and an operation theatre technician, while a nurse and her husband are absconding, they said.
Following the arrests, the chief medical officer (CMO) constituted a three-member inquiry committee.
The license of the private hospital, Navjeevan, located under Bisrakh police station limits, was cancelled and the facility was sealed, a senior district health officer said, adding that further investigation by the health department is underway.
Police said an FIR was registered on Saturday under sections 143(2) and 143(4) (human trafficking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act at Bisrakh police station.
According to police, the action came based on a tip-off that an employee of the hospital had demanded Rs 2.6 lakh from a person on the pretext of facilitating the adoption of a newborn girl.
Acting on the input, teams from the anti-human trafficking unit and Bisrakh police carried out a joint operation. "During the operation, contact was established with the complainant and the child was safely recovered. As per the directions of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the baby has been sent to Sai Kripa Shelter Home," police said.
The arrestees have been identified as hospital owner Yashika Garg (33), sanitation worker Gajendra Singh (35) and operation theatre technician Ranjit Singh (24).
Police said efforts are underway to trace the absconding accused, while further investigation is in progress.