Delhi Police arrests 13 in child-trafficking racket, rescues 5 infants

Delhi Police has dismantled an inter-state child-trafficking racket operating from a private hospital in north-west Delhi's Begumpur, rescuing five infants and arresting 13 individuals, including the hospital's owner, officials said on Thursday.

The case came to light on June 5 after a resident of Paharganj reported seeing a woman carrying different infants over a two-week period. Police analysed CCTV footage and launched a decoy operation. An undercover officer posed as a prospective buyer, and the woman allegedly agreed to hand over an infant after receiving Rs 20,000 as an advance. During the handover, police arrested Jyoti, Shalu and Lalit, and rescued a four-to-five-day-old baby.

During questioning, the arrested persons revealed information about other gang members, including Pratibha, a freelance laboratory technician at Hira Hospital; driver Vipin; and hospital owner Viveki, whom the police described as the kingpin. The other suspects were subsequently arrested and booked for human trafficking and under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police said the racket had been operating for nearly one-and-a-half years and may have trafficked at least 30 infants. The accused bought newborns from vulnerable families and sold them to childless couples at a substantial profit, an officer said.

“They bought a girl child for around Rs 1 lakh and a boy child for up to Rs 2 lakh. They then sold the girls for Rs 3-4 lakh and boys for Rs 6-8 lakh,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh, adding that three couples who bought the infants have also been arrested.

Police said the owner forged birth certificates and delivery records to facilitate illegal adoptions. Three police teams are tracing other infants and buyers.