Father sells 18-month-old son for ₹1 lakh, resold for ₹4.8 lakh: Dharavi police bust racket

Nine arrests have been made as police investigate a larger child-trafficking operation involving IVF centers and hospitals.

A father allegedly sold his 18-month-old son for ₹1 lakh, only for the child to be resold for ₹4.8 lakh by a woman who allegedly acted as an intermediary in a larger child-trafficking racket, pocketing ₹3.8 lakh in the process. Dharavi police, who have arrested nine people in the case, said the transaction was not an isolated one and that the accused were allegedly making lakhs by sourcing and selling toddlers to childless couples.

Police officials patrol in a lane during lockdown at the Dharavi slum, a Covid-19 hotspot in Mumbai. (AP)

The racket came to light after the child’s uncle grew suspicious when his sister and brother-in-law told him that their toddler had died after the woman allegedly fell in a washroom. Police have arrested nine people, including the child’s father, an alleged intermediary working at an IVF centre, five people associated with IVF centres, hospitals or nursing homes, and the Tamil Nadu-based couple who allegedly purchased the child.

The case was registered on a complaint by Sunny Singh, a security guard from Goregaon. His sister, Roly Singh, lives near T Junction in Dharavi with her husband Sandeep Singh, who works as a jewellery designer.

Sunny then returned to their home and confronted the couple. They told him that the toddler’s body had been sent for post-mortem and that they were waiting. When Sunny asked who had accompanied the body, Sandeep allegedly gave evasive answers. Upon further questioning, the couple allegedly confessed that the child had not died but had been sold.

According to the police, Sandeep had sold his son to Shabnam Singh alias Rani for ₹1 lakh because of financial difficulties at home. Rani, who worked at an IVF centre, allegedly acted as the key intermediary in the racket.

Police said Rani would identify couples who approached the IVF centre and allegedly persuade them to buy children. She then allegedly arranged the transfer of the toddler to the prospective buyers.

The police investigation allegedly uncovered a wider network involving people working at IVF centres, hospitals and nursing homes. The accused allegedly transported the 18-month-old boy to Tamil Nadu, where he was sold to a couple, Kannan Veeriya and Priya Veeriya, for ₹4.8 lakh, yielding Rani a profit of ₹3.8 lakh.

The police said the transaction allowed the network to pocket a profit of ₹3.8 lakh over the ₹1 lakh allegedly paid to the child’s father. “The child’s father had sold the boy for ₹1 lakh to Rani due to financial issues at home. Rani then allegedly facilitated the deal with the Tamil Nadu-based couple, who had been married for 16 years and did not have a child,” a Dharavi police officer said.

Police have arrested Rani and IVF-centre staff Priya Borade, Akash Borade, Deepak More, Jayda Khan and Ramaswami alias Anna, besides Sandeep Singh and the Tamil Nadu couple, Kannan Veeriya and Priya Veeriya.

Under section 143(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, trafficking a child is punishable with rigorous imprisonment of at least 10 years, which may extend to life imprisonment, along with a fine. The offence is cognisable and non-bailable and is triable by a court.