Assistant professor among 11 held in interstate baby trafficking racket
HYDERABAD: Malkajgiri police on Tuesday arrested 11 individuals involved in an interstate child trafficking racket and rescued four infants—two baby girls and two baby boys—from their custody. Shockingly, one of the buyers was an assistant professor at the NRI Institute of Technology in Vijayawada.
The gang was selling baby boys for Rs 4 lakh each and baby girls for Rs 3 lakh, making a "profit" of Rs 50,000 per transaction, police said. The operation involved several individuals, including a ward boy at Gandhi Hospital and an Asha worker from Hyderabad. The prime accused was identified as K. Krishnaveni, a medical representative, and Battu Deepthi.
According to the police, Krishnaveni and Deepthi illegally procured the infants from Vandana, a resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The babies were transported with the help of Sunitha Suman and Savitri Devi and sold to three families in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through mediators Amgoth Sharada and Budidhi Sampath Kumar from Hyderabad.
Krishnaveni, a resident of Quthbullapur, was divorced after being unable to conceive. To support herself, she began working as a medical representative.
When some acquaintances approached her regarding purchasing or adopting children, she began searching for infant adoptions on social media.
In 2024, she came into contact with Manoj from Delhi, who assured her he could provide a baby boy for Rs 5 lakh. However, Manoj was caught by Gopalapuram police in Hyderabad while attempting to sell the baby.
Battu Deepthi also contacted Krishnaveni regarding the sale of infants, police said. Krishnaveni then connected with Vandana in Ahmedabad via social media, who agreed to procure and send babies to Hyderabad at Rs 1.5 lakh for a baby girl and Rs 2.5 lakh for a baby boy.
Once the deal was finalised, Vandana sent two baby boys and two baby girls from Gujarat, aided by Sunitha Suman and Savitri Devi.
Through mediators, Krishnaveni later sold the infants to buyers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, pricing baby girls between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, and baby boys between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. The proceeds were divided among those involved.
The arrested individuals include K. Krishnaveni; Battu Deepthi from Kothapet; Goutham Savithri Devi from Ahmedabad; Battu Sravan Kumar from Kothapet; Amgoth Sharada, an Asha worker from Falaknuma; and Budidhi Sampath Kumar, a ward boy at Gandhi Hospital.
Additionally, police arrested Oguti Naga Venkata Pavan Bhagavan, an assistant professor at the NRI Institute of Technology, Vijayawada; Teppala Vinay Kumar from Hyderabad; and Lingala Ramesh from Mahabubabad district for purchasing the babies.