Traffickers pay ₹1.5-2 lakh per child to economically backward families and sell each child for ₹6-9 lakh. At least 13 people were arrested by police in this connection.
Inter-state child trafficking racket busted, 5 infants rescued, 13 people arrested: The Delhi Police has busted an inter-state child trafficking racket on Thursday. Police rescued 5 infants and recovered Rs 20,000 paid as token money by the decoys. At least 13 people were arrested by police in this connection.
Police investigation revealed that this gang was operating across multiple states. This includes traffickers, middlemen buyers and a hospital owner. The operation began on June 5, when police conducted a decoy operation near RK Ashram Metro Station in Paharganj. Police caught three accused persons namely Jyoti, Shalu and Lalit, who were allegedly attempting to sell an infant boy. Following the rescue, an FIR was registered at the Paharganj police station under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita. Also with Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
During police interrogation, arrested persons revealed information about other gang members involved in inter-state child trafficking. They were procuring infants from various sources and illegally selling them to childless couples for money. Police also arrested Pratibha, a freelance lab technician, and Vipin, a driver accused of facilitating transportation and deals and other suspects. Investigators found that the network operated across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The infants were sold through a chain of suppliers and mediators, transported across states and generated forged documents. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said they reportedly paid economically backward families ₹1.5-2 lakh per child and sell each child for ₹6-9 lakh.
‘All rescued babies have been placed under the care of the Child Welfare Committee as investigations continue to identify their biological parents and uncover the full extent of the trafficking network,’ said a police official.
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