Man, daughter-in-law held for buying 20-day-old boy for ₹8L

Delhi Police rescued a 20-day-old baby and arrested a businessman and his daughter-in-law for trafficking, linked to a syndicate selling 30 infants.

Delhi Police on Monday said they have rescued a 20-day-old baby boy and arrested a businessman and his daughter-in-law for allegedly purchasing the infant for ₹8 lakh, as investigators widened their probe into a child trafficking racket that police believe sold around 30 babies over the past two years.

The latest arrests come days after police busted the interstate syndicate and arrested 13 people. So far, six infants have been rescued. (Shutterstock)

The latest arrests come days after police busted the interstate syndicate and arrested 13 people, including a Delhi-based hospital owner, a lab technician, traffickers, mediators, transporters and alleged buyers. So far, six infants have been rescued.

Police said the racket was allegedly operated through Hira’s Multi Speciality Hospital in Begampur, Rohini. Among those arrested earlier were the hospital’s owner, Dr Viveki, 47, freelance lab technician Pratibha, 34, and alleged mastermind Saybabhai Ghamar alias Kalia, 25, a resident of Rajasthan’s Udaipur who was living in Gujarat.

According to investigators privy with the case details, who asked not to be identified, the syndicate targeted economically vulnerable families in Rajasthan and Gujarat, paying them ₹1.5 lakh- ₹2 lakh for newborns and then selling the babies to childless couples in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat for ₹6 lakh- ₹9 lakh.

Special commissioner of police (law and order) Devesh Chandra Srivastava said the operation has been underway for more than three weeks and further arrests and recoveries are expected.

Police said scrutiny of hospital records, fabricated medical documents and call records of the accused led investigators to a Rohini family that allegedly purchased a newborn on June 5.

“Based on documents recovered from the hospital, statements of the accused and call-detail records, we found that a baby had been sold to a childless couple in Rohini. A raid was conducted on Monday and the infant was rescued,” said an officer involved in the investigation.

The baby was recovered from a house in Rohini’s Sector 3. Police arrested Garima Jain and her father-in-law, Satish Jain, who owns a steel equipment factory in Rohini, while Garima’s husband remains absconding. The infant has been placed in a child-care home.

Investigators said the family allegedly came in contact with Dr Viveki through an intermediary and paid ₹8 lakh for the child.

“A majority of the infants were kept at Viveki’s hospital after fake records were prepared to show they were born there. The babies were concealed, medically attended to and prepared for illegal transfer to prospective buyers,” another investigator said.

Police said efforts are underway to trace the biological parents of the rescued infant and identify other babies allegedly sold by the syndicate.