Newborn trafficking racket busted: Cops nab 8 from Delhi, Punjab

Among the accused persons, the men were identified Piyush Aggarwal, Rajinder, Raman. Among the women, two were from Delhi and three from Punjab, police said.

DCP (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said on February 20, a PCR call was made at Begumpur police station regarding the sale and purchase of babies in the area. Said the officer, “A police team immediately reached the given address and verified the facts… we came to know that two women were in the house along with a newborn girl.”

“During enquiry, they could not give a satisfactory response about the parentage of the child. On sustained questioning, they disclosed that they operate an interstate human trafficking gang that buys and sells newborns in different states of Northern India. They said the baby girl in question was purchased from Muktsar in Punjab for Rs 50,000,” said the DCP.

The officer further revealed that the women were waiting for the right buyer. A case was registered under the IPC section pertaining to criminal conspiracy and under sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.

The DCP, “During questioning, the women also revealed names of their other gang members.” During investigation, multiple raids were conducted in Punjab and six others, including three women, were arrested.

One of the women arrested in Delhi was previously involved in a human trafficking case under the Delhi Police Crime Branch, said police.

A senior officer said the infants would be sold to final clients through a facilitator — who is currently absconding — for Rs 10 to 15 lakh. “They had sold another child on February 10 who was around the same age… we are trying to trace the child’s whereabouts and who the seller was… the clients are mostly based in Delhi-NCR,” added the officer.