Child Trafficking: Inter-State Gang Busted, 15 Infants Rescued

Bengaluru: In a shocking development, a huge network which was allegedly involved in selling infants has been busted by Bengaluru police.

The police had been investigating the kidnapping of a newborn child from a Bengaluru civic hospital last year when they unearthed a gang which had been engaged in this heinous crime in southern India.

Five members of the gang have been arrested, while 15 children have been rescued by Bengaluru police so far, The Indian Express reported.

It has emerged that the gang sold 28 infants for amounts ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh during the last five years. The babies traded were aged between 10 days and 3 months.

Police said the gang had networks in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala.

All five arrested are from Bengaluru. The alleged kingpin of the gang died of COVID-19, which has affected the investigation, police said.

The network identified couples in need of children and those ready to sell them. The gang even managed to steal some newborn babies from hospitals.

“They were sold with the consent of parents, but it is illegal. After handing over the (rescued) children to Child Welfare Committee (CWC), they have been sent with adopted parents. The biological parents, adopted parents and middlemen are booked but we are not arresting the parents as it would affect children,” DCP (South) Harish Pandey said.

It was in May 2020 that a case was reported of a 45-day baby being stolen from a government hospital. The police took more than a year to find out that a doctor was involved in the crime. Dr Rashmi Shashikumar was arrested in June this year for allegedly stealing the baby and giving it to a couple stating that the child had been delivered by a surrogate mother.

His arrest led to more information which helped the police nab others involved in the crime.