Delhi: 6 held for ‘buying babies from poor women, selling them to childless couples’

Initial investigation has revealed that the gang has been operating for the last three years and has, so far sold 50 babies. Raids are on to nab the remaining accused, police said.

DCP (crime branch) Rajesh Deo said, “We have arrested the six women, including the kingpin, Kajal (31). The other mastermind is absconding. The gang used to approach poor people and offer to buy their children, and later sold the babies,” he said.

Police suspect their racket has spread to other states as well.

On December 17, police received information about a gang involved in kidnapping and trafficking of babies. “They got to know that some of the gang members would come to Gandhi Nagar to sell an infant, and police nabbed three women from the spot. They had an 8-day-old boy with them and were asking for money when police made their arrest,” Deo added.

During questioning, the accused told police that some years ago, they would donate eggs at an IVF clinic for Rs 25,000 each. That’s when they got the idea that rich, childless couples would be willing to pay for the opportunity to have a baby.

Police said that the gang started identifying pregnant women from poor families and offering them money to give up the child. “In the meantime, they identified several potential ‘buyers’ and also circulated the child’s pictures among touts via WhatsApp,” Deo said.

“The gang also convinced seller and buyers that the whole process was not illegal. In some cases, they provided notarised documents in which the seller would claim to know who had legally adopted the child,” the DCP said. “A child was ‘purchased’ for anything between Rs 2 lakh-Rs 3 lakh and the accused would get a hefty commission,” he added.