Goa, June 6 -- A Punjab woman has accused her former husband of selling their 16-day-old son for Rs 5 lakh to finance his alleged drug addiction, setting off a police investigation into the disappearance of the newborn.

The complainant, identified as Shivani, alleged that the ordeal began shortly after she gave birth to a baby boy at Civil Hospital in Jalandhar on May 21. According to her, it was her former husband, Shiva, who helped her through the pregnancy and even took her to the hospital when she went into labour.

Shivani said she and Shiva had been married for 12 years and shared two children before separating around four years ago following domestic disputes. Both later remarried. During a difficult phase in her second marriage, ...