• Source:JND
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Telangana Police busted an inter-state child trafficking network and rescued 11 babies in Hyderabad, police said on Tuesday. The Greater Hyderabad Police arrested 11 individuals, including eight women, which were made by the Medipally Police under the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate. The suspects are believed to have purchased the babies from three accused based in Delhi and Pune.

The operation was revealed to the public by Rachakonda Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi on Tuesday. He disclosed that the children, ranging from one to two-and-a-half months old, were being sold to childless couples. Among the rescued, nine are girls and two are boys.

The investigation into the racket began with the arrest of Shobha Rani, a Registered Medical Practitioner, on May 22. She was caught selling a baby for Rs 4.50 lakh. This led to further arrests, including Swapna and Shaik Saleem, who were aiding Rani. Two infants were saved from their custody.

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During questioning, Shobarani admitted to collaborating with Hari Hara Chetan in the illegal trade. Following this information, police arrested several individuals connected to the scheme, all hailing from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, police said. The accused were charged under sections 370, 372,373 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 81,87 and 88 Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

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The interrogation of the arrested individuals unveiled that the babies were bought from Kiran and Preethi of Delhi, and Kannaiah of Pune, each child costing Rs 50,000. These people reportedly supplied nearly 50 babies to the arrested agents, who then sold them for prices between Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 5.50 lakh through intermediaries in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Currently, the primary suspects, Kiran, Preethi, Kannaiah and others, remain at large. Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi said that an investigation is ongoing to arrest the absconding individuals and to fully dismantle the trafficking network.