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Udupi, Karnataka:
In a case that has shaken the coastal town of Udupi, police have unearthed an illegal child procurement racket that involved not only a desperate couple but also a doctor and a paying guest facility owner. What began as a simple attempt to register a newborn at an anganwadi spiraled into the exposure of a crime that seems both cruel and calculated.
The incident came to light on August 21, when an anganwadi worker grew suspicious while registering a four-day-old baby girl under the Poshan Tracker scheme. Something didn’t add up, and her quiet alert to the Child Development Project Office (CDPO) set the wheels of investigation in motion.
Police soon discovered that Prabhavati and her husband, Ramesh Moolya, from Kallugudde in Kaup taluk, had falsely claimed the infant—delivered at Colaco Hospital in Mangaluru—as their own. The heartbreaking truth was that the baby’s mother, a 22-year-old rape survivor struggling with mental health issues, had been coerced into the shadows of this conspiracy.
At the center of the plot stood Vijayalakshmi alias Vijaya, who ran a PG in Mangaluru. The survivor had been staying there with her mother during her pregnancy. What’s more, the network included Dr. Somesh Solomon, who allegedly misused his medical practice to facilitate the illegal adoption, and Navaneeth Narayan (25), who had assaulted the young woman and fathered the child.
The scheme was disturbingly well-orchestrated: Aadhaar details of the Kaup couple were used during medical scans, and Prabhavati’s ID was submitted to hospital records, effectively erasing the mother’s identity. For this “service,” Vijayalakshmi and Dr. Somesh reportedly received ₹4.6 lakh.
“This is not just a crime against a child—it’s a betrayal of humanity itself,” said an investigating officer, visibly disturbed by the revelations.
The survivor, initially discharged without proper care, is now receiving medical attention with police assistance. Meanwhile, the baby remains in state custody. Police confirmed the arrests of Dr. Somesh, Vijayalakshmi, and Navaneeth, while the couple is cooperating with the probe. Priyanka, a relative who acted as a go-between, has also been questioned.
The case has been filed under Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2016, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Authorities are probing whether similar rackets may have operated in the region earlier.
That said, the larger question looms: how many more silent stories of coercion, exploitation, and false hope remain buried beneath the layers of our healthcare and welfare systems?
FAQs
Q1. What triggered the investigation into the child procurement racket in Udupi?
The case came to light when an anganwadi worker grew suspicious during the registration of a four-day-old infant under the Poshan Tracker scheme and alerted authorities.
Q2. Who are the main accused in the case?
Those arrested include Dr. Somesh Solomon, PG owner Vijayalakshmi, and Navaneeth Narayan. The couple, Ramesh and Prabhavati Moolya, are cooperating with police investigations.