Indian Police Drop Child-Selling Case, Rather Than Place Call To UK
The father of nine-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali will not be charged with any crime for allegedly trying to sell her to undercover reporters for $US300,000. Indian police couldn’t track down the reporters.
It was always somewhat unclear what exactly went down in this case, and it seemed to boil down to a tabloid’s word versus the word of the father, Rafiq Qureshi. So it’s good to know the authorities WENT ALL OUT to get the testimony of every witness:
Police questioned Qureshi but were unable to track down the three journalists who carried out the alleged sting.
Officers looked for them at the Leela, a five-star hotel where the report said they met Qureshi but they had already left, Shaikh said.
Police traced two mobile phone numbers the trio gave the hotel to local Vodafone SIM cards, which were activated on April 16 and deactivated on April 19.
Indian police made no further efforts to contact the journalists or News of the World in England, Shaikh added.
Yep, they closed this case—which made headlines around the world—because they just couldn’t get in touch with those News of the World reporters. Uh, did they try looking here?
[Pic via]
- Next Post: Which Actor’s Penis Piercing Has To Be Digitally Edited? »
- « Previous Post: David Letterman’s Underminey Digs At Lauren Conrad
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@Aaron Altman: Amazing. Just...amazing. I would be your Jai ho any day.
DahlELama
@pattycakes: true. But in this case, there's a large shadow of doubt cast on the journalists. They posed as adoptive parents & put the father up in a fancy hotel & the father claims he didn't agree to anything - no money was exchanged or proof that he agreed. It's sounds a lot like Florida time-shares - you get a free place to stay if you agree to a tour, but that doesn't mean you commit. Tempting for a poor guy. But the journalists needed a story & "politely declines" isn't big news.
once
Was that $300,000 U.S. Dollars or Canadian dollars?
@Aaron Altman: Haha! I couldn't remember the phrase. I'm writing it down.
Yeah, but $300,000 is pretty good money. Jus' sayin'.
@belltolls: "Would you like to buy my book for one dollar U.S.? Er, one dollar?"
@blix: Hah! BECAUSE IT'S TRUE. Next time you think you have a Philippine call center on the line, blurt out "ta-la-GA!" for extra hijinks. :-)
i actually have some mixed feelings about this. if you are living in an actual destitute situation (unlike our dear floethe story from earlier this week)and someone could possibly help your situation while simultaneously giving your daughter a much better situation as well....i'm honestly not sure what i would do. this doesn't seem like the awful child-selling for sex and begging industries as was portrayed in the film.
pattycakes
@Aaron Altman: You know how everybody is collecting tweets for some book or something? I am keeping recordings of my conversations with overseas credit card call centers regarding...um...my over-payment of certain cards. Note to self: must use, "Why are you tripping, boo?" at least twice today.
belltolls
@Aaron Altman: Your call center in the Pilippines comment is classic.
Rubina holds up her only compensation for her role in the film, some air infusion tchotchke, re-gifted from a Yankee-swap.
This happens all the time in India, we don't give a shit til it's someone whose cute on some American Media pedestal. Beware, We will tear you down like Britney Spears, Rubina.
LeeroySpitzer
If you're going to buy a child on the black market, don't you want it to be one nobody will recognize? I'm just saying.
@misslinda:
OPERATOR: Hello, thank you for calling Sprint. My name is Eli. How may I provide you with excellent customer service today?
CUSTOMER: Eli, hmmm? Where are you from?
OPERATOR (flipping through pages): Um... Peoria, Illinois.
CUSTOMER: Oh, okay.
OPERATOR (flipping through more pages): "Hey, they opened a McDonald's here yesterday. Right next to the (pause) Wal-Mart. Why are you tripping, boo?"
CUSTOMER: What?
OPERATOR: "U-S-A! U-S-A!"
CUSTOMER: Okay, I get it!
OPERATOR: Jai ho!
CUSTOMER: What?
OPERATOR: Never mind.
I'll be on the look-out for an Indian craigslist ad under the heading of "oscar child for sale"
HPGrl04
@Aaron Altman: Come on, you know you want to! Just one little joke? For me?
I will not make any jokes about call centers in India.
I will not make any jokes about call centers in India.
I will not make any jokes about call centers in India.
..
You really have to look at it from HIS perspective.
He can MAKE another cute baby out of thin air, but how many times are you offered CASH for a USED one?
Depreciation, MAN.
..
Kirth
ugh, my people make me really sad...
Can you collect a reward from the Indian police for tracking down these key witnesses?
SultanaEleusis
@pattycakes: Dude. I feel you to a certain extent. But it's still *selling your kid* for three hundred grand. To total strangers. Without her consent. It's like that French crew that kidnapped all those refugee kids in Chad -- sure, they would have had a better life in Paris, but they were KIDNAPPED! Kids aren't for taking or for sale.
Besides which, Rubina Ali's family isn't actually destitute anymore. Every week, there's another story about what new trust fund or pony or whatever the Slumdog crew bought for the kids.