The Delhi Police have arrested 12 persons, including a doctor, two middlemen and owner of a private hospital, for allegedly running a child trafficking racket, officials said on Thursday. Five infants were rescued from Delhi, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh during the operation, they added.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir, the breakthrough came after a decoy operation was conducted near RK Ashram Metro Station in Paharganj on June 5.
Acting on specific intelligence, the olice apprehended three accused — Jyoti, Shalu and Lalit — while they were allegedly attempting to sell a newborn male infant aged around four to five days to decoy customers, the cop added.
The infant was rescued safely and Rs 20,000 paid as token money during the operation was recovered. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at the Paharganj police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act.
Investigators later uncovered an extensive child trafficking network operating across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. According to the police, the syndicate procured newborn babies through suppliers and intermediaries before selling them to childless couples for lakhs of rupees.
A key development in the case was the arrest of Dr Viveki, owner of Heera Multi Speciality Hospital in Begampur. The police alleged that she played a crucial role in the racket by sheltering trafficked infants at her hospital, identifying prospective buyers among couples seeking fertility treatment and facilitating illegal transfers through fabricated hospital and birth-related documents. Infants were allegedly sourced from different states, transported to Delhi and later handed over to buyers after forged records were prepared to falsely establish legal parentage.
The police arrested Pratibha, a laboratory technician associated with the hospital, and Vipin, a driver who allegedly transported syndicate members and infants. A cash amount of Rs 2.92 lakh, allegedly intended for purchasing another newborn child, was recovered from them.
The police also arrested Omwati, a Gurugram-based domestic worker accused of acting as a mediator in arranging infants for the network. Among those arrested were Mukesh and Reema Pal of Gwalior, who allegedly purchased two trafficked infants, and Panipat residents Sunny Arora, Ritu Arora and Sarika, who are accused of purchasing trafficked children from the syndicate.
Further investigation identified Saybabhai Ghamar as a major supplier of infants to the network. The police rescued four additional infants during the probe. The total number of rescued infants stands at five.
