HYDERABAD: The Miyapur police, along with the Special Operations Team (SOT), Shamshabad, arrested 11 members of an interstate human trafficking gang and rescued two newborns, both aged 10 days.
Police said the accused allegedly purchased babies for amounts ranging between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 4 lakh and sold them for Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, depending on demand.
The arrested accused were identified as Vemula Babu Reddy (49), Venkipally Gangadhar Reddy (39), Daram Laxmi (28), Ram Hari Roy (37), Kummari Harsha Roy (31), Sangeeta Debi (33), Gudepu Sujatha (40), Suraboina Anuradha (55), Esarapu Jyothi (35), V Madhavi (28) and Pothula Sobha (44).
Madhapur DCP Ritiraj said that Harsha Roy was also accused in the Srushti surrogacy and baby-selling racket — in which about 50 couples were cheated — and had resumed his activities after securing bail.
One of the rescued infants was from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, while the other was from Siddipet district. Police said the gang targeted vulnerable families, identified pregnant women, and entered into illegal agreements for the sale of newborns.
According to the DCP, the accused operated as an organised network. They allegedly identified poor families across different parts of the country who were unable to meet basic needs and induced them to sell their infants by offering money. The babies were then sold to affluent childless couples through a chain of middlemen.
Vemula Babu Reddy, a resident of Dammaiguda in Kapra, works as an IVF agent. He was previously arrested in cases registered by the Alwal police and the Devarakonda police in Suryapet district.
Gangadhar Reddy, a resident of Mettugadda and native of East Godavari district, is reportedly involved in 18 cases across the Cyberabad, Rachakonda and Hyderabad commissionerates.
Newborns bought from Ahmedabad, Siddipet
In the present case, police said Gangadhar Reddy contacted his associates, including Daram Laxmi, Sangeeta Debi and Harsha Roy, and procured an infant from Ahmedabad by paying the biological parents through middlemen, with the intention of selling the child in Hyderabad.
In a similar instance, Babu Reddy approached Gangadhar Reddy for another infant. Gangadhar Reddy then contacted Gudepu Sujatha, Suraboina Anuradha, Esarapu Jyothi, V Madhavi and Pothula Sobha, and procured an infant from Ramanpet in Siddipet district through intermediaries.
Police said further investigation is under way to ascertain how many infants were sold earlier and the amounts involved. The Miyapur police are investigating the case.