New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI): The Delhi Police has rescued a 25-day-old infant from Rohini and arrested two persons for allegedly purchasing the baby for Rs 8 lakh, taking the number of children recovered in an interstate child trafficking racket to six, officials said on Monday.
The accused, Garima Jain and her father-in-law Satish Jain, were arrested after investigators tracked the child as part of the ongoing probe into the trafficking syndicate busted earlier this month.
Police said the Jain family, residents of Rohini, had allegedly bought the newborn around two-and-a-half weeks ago through a woman linked to the racket, as they had no children.
The baby has been taken into protective custody and produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which has arranged for his care and rehabilitation, officials said.
Investigators suspect that the infant was sourced from a low-income family in Rajasthan’s Pali district for around Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh before being brought to Delhi and sold for Rs 8 lakh.
Efforts are underway to identify the child’s biological parents, police said, adding that the families of all six rescued infants are yet to be traced.
The latest recovery is part of a wider investigation that has revealed the trafficking network may have sold nearly 30 infants across multiple states in the last 18 months.
According to the probe, the syndicate targeted vulnerable families, including those from tribal areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and purchased babies for as little as Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 before selling them to childless couples for Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Police said the gang operated through an organised chain of suppliers, transporters and middlemen, and allegedly used private hospitals and forged birth and medical records to facilitate the illegal adoptions.
The racket came to light after a decoy operation near R K Ashram Metro Station in Paharganj on June 5, when three persons were caught allegedly trying to sell a four-to-five-day-old infant.
So far, 13 people, including alleged traffickers, mediators, buyers and the owner of a private hospital in outer Delhi, have been arrested.
Police had also arrested the alleged key supplier of the racket, Saybabhai Ghamar alias Kalia, from Gujarat on June 17.
Raids are continuing in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to trace more infants and nab other members of the syndicate, officials added. PTI SSJ KSI KSI KSI
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
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