A grandfather sold his three-day-old grandson on Facebook after telling his daughter the child had died.
Police in Punjab, India, say the man, named only as Firoz, was offered 45,000 rupees (£550) by a hospital nurse and her accomplice who were involved in a child trafficking ring.
The child was later sold to a Delhi-based businessman for Rs 800,000 (£9,660) through a deal arranged on Facebook.
The Daily Mail quotes reports that the mother, named only as Noora, gave birth to the baby boy in the city of Ludhiana on April 8 and was discharged from hospital the following day.
But on April 10 the nurse named as Sunita, and a fellow hospital employee named as Gurpreet Singh, took the baby away claiming he was ill.
The following day they told the mum her child had died. Then on April 12 some people reportedly came to Noora's home and paid her father Firoz Rs 45,000, after which he left the home.
However Noora, who separated from her husband in February this year, had become suspicious about her father's sudden new wealth and reported the baby as missing to the police.
Officers managed to trace Firoz to the city of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and during an interrogation he revealed the entire plot.
The police team then returned to the hospital where they discovered the baby alive and well and returned him to his mother.
Police arrested the nurse who they believe was involved with a child trafficking racket and are now attempting to apprehend the middleman, the Delhi-based businessman and any others involved.