NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has busted an inter-state child trafficking syndicate and arrested 10 more people, including biological parents, traffickers, middlemen, buyers and a hospital owner, officials said. Four more children have been rescued from locations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The case began with a decoy operation near RK Ashram Metro station on June 5 following a tip-off. Police arrested three people allegedly trying to sell an infant to decoy customers and rescued the four-to-five-day-old child, DCP(Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said.
Further investigation led to the arrest of 10 more accused, including the biological parents of the trafficked infants. Police said the accused were part of a larger organised network that procured infants from various sources and allegedly sold them illegally to childless couples for money.
In one case, police found that a newborn girl was taken from a woman who did not wish to keep the child after her pregnancy. She allegedly contacted a doctor, who conducted the delivery and sent her away without handing over the infant.
In another case, a boy was allegedly procured from his biological parents in Gujarat for money and later sold to a couple in Panipat at a higher price. Police said no IVF or surrogacy angle had emerged during the investigation.
Prospective buyers approached syndicate members, who then identified parents willing to give up their children. The infants were allegedly sold to the couples through middlemen, police said.