Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda announced on Tuesday that a child trafficking operation in the city has been dismantled, leading to the arrest of seven individuals. He further indicated suspicions of the involvement of medical professionals in the illicit activity. A 20-day-old male infant was rescued during a police operation in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where a gang predominantly composed of individuals from Tamil Nadu was observed behaving suspiciously.

Police sources have identified the apprehended individuals as Suhasini, Gomathi, Kannan Ramaswamy, Hemalatha, Sharanya, Mahalakshmi, and Radha.

A case has been officially registered at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station in connection with the arrests. The gang stands accused of engaging in the theft and subsequent sale of newborns at a considerable price to couples facing infertility issues. It is suspected that a significant number of the trafficked children in Bengaluru were procured from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. “It is a big racket in which trafficked babies are sold to childless parents at Rs eight lakh to Rs 10 lakh. An interrogation by the Central Crime Branch revealed that they have sold 10 babies so far,” PTI quoted Dayananda as telling reporters.

According to commissioner Dayananda, the racket is supported by a vast network, and it implicates certain doctors from Tamil Nadu in its operations. “The gang had been operating for several years, but it was only recently that their activities came to light,” stated the police commissioner. “We have taken them into police custody and are interrogating them.” Additionally, the gang was found to be furnishing counterfeit documents to childless parents following the sale of the infants, the police commissioner added. In response to inquiries about potential collaboration with hospitals and nursing homes, Dayananda stated, “We have learned that certain doctors are implicated in this racket. We are actively investigating the involvement of doctors from Tamil Nadu.”

With agency inputs