Gang selling newborns busted in Delhi, infant rescued

With the arrest of five women and two men, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police has busted a gang of human traffickers who were involved in selling newborns in the national capital, an official said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Bablu Shah (28), Barkha (28), Veena (55), Madhu Sharma (50), Jyoti (32), Pawan (45) and Salma Devi.

An infant aged about two-and-a-half months, who was about to be sold by the accused, was also rescued by the police.

DCP (Crime Branch) Vichitraveer Singh said that acting on a specific tip-off, a contact was made with Madhu Sharma, who along with her friend Veena agreed to sell a baby boy for Rs 6.5 lakh.


Accordingly, a deal was fixed with Madhu and Veena by a police officer posing as a decoy customer.

"Madhu and Veena called Jyoti over phone, who came along with Barkha and Bablu Shah to deliver the baby boy at the designated place, the DCP said.

The accused accepted the initial amount of Rs 4 lakh and handed over the baby to the decoy customer. A team from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Crime Branch them nabbed all the accused persons and recovered the from their possession.


During the course of investigation, two more accused, Pawan alias Mama and Simran, were arrested.

During interrogation, it was revealed that Jyoti was working with an IVF clinic, where she used to come in contact with couples who could not have children. Jyoti and her accomplices saw an opportunity to make quick money by selling children to such couples.

The official said that these individuals knew a person named Qutbuddin, a resident of Jharkhand, who arranged to bring newlborns from Jharkhand and hand them over to Salmi Devi.


"The child used to exchange hands many times before being handed over to the client, and if one got caught, the information would be passed on to other members so that they could disappear," the DCP said.

He said that in the present case as well, it took a lot of effort to unearth the entire group. A team was sent to Jharkhand to nab Qutbuddin, but he had already disappeared from there by then, the officer added. - IANS