Police in West Bengal, India, said a couple sold their baby to pay for an iPhone, according to The Indian Express.
The mother said they wanted to use the money made from selling their eight-month-old son to travel and create content for Instagram, according to an unnamed senior police official, per the newspaper.
Police were alerted after local residents raised suspicions that the couple had just bought a brand new phone, the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate official said, per The Express.
The World Bank notes that West Bengal has pockets of high poverty, which might have accounted for the suspicion. According to a 2022 PRS Legislative Research report, the region’s GDP per capita — an indicator of income — was roughly $1,600, just a little more than the price of a brand-new iPhone 14 in the country at the time.
The couple in question has been identified as Jaydev Ghosh and Sathi, the police official said.
Police said they sold the baby to Priyanka Ghosh, who lives in the same region.
Both Priyanka and the mother of the baby have been arrested, the police official stated.
“After interrogation, the mother admitted to the crime and informed that she and her husband wanted to use the money to take trips across the state so that they could create content for Instagram Reels,” the official said.
The baby was reportedly rescued by police.
Police also alleged that the baby’s father tried to sell the couple’s other child — a seven-year-old — but the plan did not materialize.
The infant’s father is now on the run.
The Barrackpore Police Commissionerate did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.