A new-born was sold to a couple for Rs 60,000 by a private nursing home. (Representative)
Five people, including the owner of a private nursing home in North 24 Parganas district, were arrested on Saturday on the charge of being involved in the trafficking of an 11-day-old child, the police said.
The arrested people also included a couple who were allegedly sold the newly-born girl for Rs 60,000 from the nursing home at Ashok Nagar locality of Habra.
The two others were the nursing home's caretaker and a quack attached to the facility, the police said.
The incident came to light after the couple went to Habra hospital with the new-born girl, who was ill, but failed to produce documents regarding her birth.
The hospital authorities suspected foul play and informed the police who questioned the couple and came to know about the alleged trafficking racket.
It is still not clear who are the child's parents.
The police sought the nod of a local court to seal the nursing home.
The court remanded the caretaker and the quack to eight days of police custody and others to judicial custody.