Three women, engaged as fertility agents and egg donors, were arrested on Monday, as the Mumbai police unveiled an inter-state child selling racket. The racket was busted a day earlier, leading to the rescue of two children from Ahmednagar and Hyderabad, stated a Mumbai police official.
With a swift crackdown, the Crime Branch has apprehended a total of 10 individuals associated with the illicit operation, while successfully rescuing four children from their clutches, the official confirmed. "An infant boy of one-and-a-half years was liberated from Akole in Ahmednagar, alongside an eight-month-old girl from Hyderabad," detailed the official.
The trio of arrested women has been sent to nine-day police custody, while further developments unfolded with the detention of four women in Vishakhapatnam by the Crime Branch's enforcement unit, all linked to the case. In their early thirties, these detained women, also involved in egg donation and fertility brokerage, were being transported to Mumbai for interrogation, the official elaborated.
The recent revelation follows Sunday's arrest of a doctor and six others. Investigations revealed their involvement in trafficking infants and toddlers, with destinations spanning Hyderabad in Telangana and various regions of Andhra Pradesh.
"Our probe has found members of this racket sold at least 14 infants and toddlers from Mumbai to Hyderabad in Telangana and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. The syndicate was operating since September 2022," he said. The officials informed that the syndicate charged anything between Rs 80,000 to Rs 4 lakh per child, while their parents were given Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000.
(With PTI Inputs)
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