Accused Ram Kumar Verma had been posted at the electricity sub-station in Maudaha, Hamirpur, for the past six months. (Express Photo)He was a father to two daughters, but a power department engineer in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur desperately wanted a son. So, he allegedly offered a government nurse Rs 5 lakh to arrange a baby boy for him.The alleged deal surfaced two months after the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) was arrested for trying to steal a newborn from a Community Health Centre (CHC).Police said they found the link after examining ANM Geeta Devi’s call records, which showed that engineer Ram Kumar Verma, 40, had been in regular contact with her in the days leading up to her arrest. Verma’s phone location also placed him near the CHC in Ghatampur, Kanpur, at the time hospital staff caught Geeta allegedly attempting to take away the newborn.Following this discovery, police went back to question Geeta inside jail.She broke down and admitted that Verma had promised to pay her the money if she could arrange a baby boy for him, said Manoj Singh Bhadauria, Station House Officer (SHO) of Ghatampur police station.Police subsequently traced Verma, who has been posted as a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) at the electricity sub-station in Maudaha, Hamirpur, for the past six months.“Verma admitted to the crime during questioning. We arrested him and later produced him before the court, which sent him to judicial custody,” said SHO Bhadauria.Story continues below this adVerma, who is from Kanpur, is a father to two daughters, aged 8 and 11.According to police, he first came into contact with Geeta some years ago while posted in Kanpur Dehat. The two remained in regular touch ever since.Police said around 9 pm on May 10, Geeta took a newborn baby from the Ghatampur CHC and attempted to walk out undetected.Staff, however, caught her in the act before she could get away. Police were called, who took Geeta into custody. A case was lodged against the 40-year-old nurse on charges of kidnapping, human trafficking and criminal conspiracy at the Ghatampur police station.Story continues below this adAt the time, police said, Geeta did not reveal that someone had lured her into kidnapping a baby boy. Instead, she suggested she had acted entirely on her own.It was only when police began examining her phone records that a different picture started to emerge — they found she had been in regular contact with Verma in the period leading up to her arrest.