Dharmapuram Police have arrested a mother and her partner for allegedly selling a two-year-old girl for Rs. 40,000, while a woman accused of purchasing the child has also been taken into custody, Newswire reported on Sunday.
The arrests followed a complaint by the Dharmapuram Grama Niladhari, who alleged the child had been sold to a woman in the Colombo area. During questioning, the suspects reportedly told investigators they had sold the child to raise money for medical treatment for the girl’s four-year-old elder sister, who is suffering from thalassemia.
Police said the mother had used Rs. 15,000 of the proceeds to purchase a mobile phone. When questioned over the purchase, the suspects reportedly failed to provide a clear explanation.
The arrested mother and her partner, aged 27 and 31 respectively, are residents of Dharmapuram. The woman alleged to have bought the child is a 37-year-old resident of Avariyawatta, Katunayake.
The two women and the male suspect were produced before the Kilinochchi Magistrate’s Court and remanded until April 29.
Sri Lanka’s National Child Protection Authority and the Probation and Childcare Services Department typically take custody of children rescued in such cases pending court proceedings. The status of the rescued child and her sibling at the time of reporting was not disclosed by police. The case emerged the same week police reported over 156,000 arrests under the Rata Ekata anti-narcotics operation since October 2025, reflecting heightened police activity across Northern and other provinces.
Source: Newswire.
