Surat, September 9: The police rescued a three-year-old boy and arrested two persons from Bardoli taluka who were on their way to sell the child on Saturday.

According to case details, Geeta Vasava, a 35-year-old resident of Navapur in Maharashtra, and Arjun Harpati, a resident of Tain village in Bardoli taluka, had been inquiring about buyers for the child when Tain sarpanch Ramesh Rathod learnt about the couple and invited them. The couple, allegedly, told Rathod they would sell the child for Rs 2,000. Geeta told Rathod that the boy was the son of her sister, who along with her husband had passed away two months ago. Meanwhile, tipped off, police arrived at the sapanch's house and arrested the two. Geeta was inebriated when arrested, said Inspector V A Patel of Bardoli Police Station.

During interrogation, Geeta confessed that the boy was her friend Sumitra Vasava's child Prakash.

He said, "Geeta had come to Bardoli with her husband Dilip Vasava and daughter Sunita from Navapur taluka of Maharashtra a year ago. The couple worked as labourers at construction sites in Bardoli and nearby places. Dilip later married another female labourer and shifted to another place. Left alone with her daughter, Geeta got friendly with one Sumitra and began living with her."

Later, Sumitra shifted her residence to Sayan village in Olpad taluka two months ago. She, reportedly, met Geeta a month ago and took her eight-year-old daughter, leaving the boy behind. "Sumitra failed to turn up and Geeta learnt that she had sold off Sunita to a couple and had collected a good amount. Geeta decided to do the same with Prakash. She was trying to sell him when she met Arjun in Tain and teamed up with him," said police. The police have sent a team to Sayan and neighbouring villages to locate Sumitra.