Probe hits hurdle in baby trafficking case

The investigation into a child trafficking racket busted last month, in which seven newborns were rescued, has hit a hiccup

The investigation into a child trafficking racket busted last month, in which seven newborns were rescued, has hit a hiccup.

Investigators have been unable to locate the biological parents of rescued newborns.

On one hand, investigators have been unable to locate the biological parents of rescued newborns; and on the other, while they have found some couples whose babies are missing, they haven’t been able establish if these couple are linked with the trafficking network.

Police, however, said on Tuesday that they have developed “strong leads” and are examining one or two couples who may be the biological parents of two of the rescued babies.

In mid-June, Delhi Police said they had busted a child trafficking syndicate allegedly operating out of Hira’s Multi Speciality Hospital in Rohini’s Begampur area. Investigators believe the gang sold around 30 newborns over the past two years. Till date, the hospital owner, alleged traffickers, mediators, transporters and buyers, have been arrested, while seven infants have been rescued.

According to investigators, the syndicate targeted economically vulnerable families in Rajasthan and Gujarat, purchasing newborns for ₹1.5 lakh- ₹2 lakh before selling them to childless couples in NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat for ₹3 lakh- ₹7 lakh. The gang allegedly disguised the illegal adoptions as IVF births using forged hospital records.

Now, the biggest challenge in front of the investigators is tracing the biological parents of the rescued infants.

A police officer associated with the probe said the special investigation team (SIT) has divided its work between tracing the remaining babies allegedly sold by the racket and identifying the parents of those already rescued.

“One team is tracing the remaining 20-odd babies, while another is trying to identify the biological parents of the rescued infants,” the officer said.

Investigators said one of the key accused – Saybabhai Ghamar alias Kalia – allegedly procured babies not only for this syndicate but also for other trafficking networks operating in western India. “Kalia used to travel to Rajasthan, particularly the Pali region, to buy or kidnap babies. Based on his disclosures, we began searches in Rajasthan and Gujarat. After weeks of investigation, we located three or four couples whose babies had gone missing, but DNA tests and verification ruled them out as the parents of the rescued infants.”

“We also cannot yet say whether their missing babies are linked to this racket or another trafficking network,” the officer said.

Two senior officers confirmed that investigators had traced several couples with missing infants but none could be linked to the rescued babies.

A member of the SIT, however, said investigators have recently made significant progress. “We have now traced one or two more couples and have strong leads. We are very close to reuniting at least two babies with their biological parents. Only DNA testing and final verification remain,”the officer said.

He added that identifying the parents of the remaining rescued infants remains difficult because the hospital maintained virtually no records about the babies’ origins.

“One of the biggest hurdles is that the hospital records do not mention where the babies came from. Several trafficking gangs operate across villages in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where babies are either purchased or kidnapped. In kidnapping cases, there is no financial transaction with the biological parents, making it impossible to establish a money trail,” the officer said.

The SIT is now headed by the additional deputy commissioner of police (central).

Investigators said many of the infants were temporarily housed at Hira’s Multi Speciality Hospital, where fake medical records were prepared to falsely portray them as babies born through IVF procedures.

Police alleged that hospital owner Dr Viveki also persuaded some prospective buyers to get admitted as patients so the adoption could be passed off as a legitimate IVF delivery, helping the syndicate evade suspicion while supplying newborns to childless couples.