• Source:JND

Delhi Police on Thursday busted a large inter-state child trafficking racket in which newborn babies were allegedly taken from poor families and sold to childless couples in Delhi and other states for several lakh rupees. The Central District Police rescued five infants and arrested 13 people, including traffickers, middlemen, buyers, and a hospital owner. The racket was spread across Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.

How the racket came to light

The case began after a resident of Paharganj in Central Delhi noticed a woman repeatedly seen with different infants. Police checked CCTV footage and used local intelligence to track her down. The woman, Jyoti alias Kamlesh, was then caught after a police decoy posed as a buyer and arranged a deal for a baby.

Police decoy operation led to arrest

A woman police officer acted as a fake customer and contacted Kamlesh, who agreed to sell a newborn for a token amount of Rs 20,000. She was arrested on June 5 while handing over the baby. Her interrogation helped police uncover a wider trafficking network.

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Multi-state network exposed

Police found that the racket involved buying or stealing infants from poor families in Rajasthan and Gujarat and selling them in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. Other accused include Shalu, Lalit, Pratibha, and Vipin. Two of them were arrested with Rs 3 lakh cash while arranging another deal. Investigations led police to HiraтАЩs Multispeciality Hospital in Begumpur, Rohini, which is believed to be the centre of the racket.

Hospital owner Dr Viveki has been named as a key accused. Police said forged documents like birth certificates and delivery papers were prepared at the hospital to make the transactions appear legal.

How were the babies bought and sold

Police said a girl child was bought for around Rs 1-2 lakh and sold for Rs 3-4 lakh, while a boy child was bought for Rs 2 lakh and sold for Rs 6-8 lakh. The deals were reportedly arranged through the hospital and intermediaries. Police arrested Sababhai Ghamar alias Kalia from Gujarat, who allegedly sourced infants from poor families in Rajasthan and Gujarat. At least 30 babies are suspected to have been trafficked in the last one year. Some couples who bought babies from the racket have also been arrested.

In one case, the gang allegedly sold a boy and a girl child as twins to a couple for Rs 9 lakh, even though the babies were not related and were brought from different places. Further investigation is underway to identify more victims and accused involved in the network.

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