Police arrest man in India for attempting to sell grandson on Facebook for £500

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Police in India have arrested a man for attempting to sell his newborn grandson on Facebook.

According to reports Feroz Khan, 47, is accused of abducting the boy from a hospital shortly after his daughter had given birth, and then attempting to sell him to a local businessman.

Khan was arrested in the city of Ludhiana, 300km (186 miles) from Delhi.

It is claimed that he - along with the help of two members of staff at the hospital - struck a deal to sell the boy for around 45,000 rupees (£549).

Satish Malhotra, a senior police officer in Ludhiana, told the AFP news agency: “All three people who conspired to sell the child have been arrested and we will be interrogating the businessman who paid the money to buy the baby.”

The child has since been rescued and returned to his mother.

If found guilty the three individuals involved in selling the child could be imprisoned for anything up to seven years.