Crime Branch busts inter-state child trafficking ring, rescues 2 children

Mumbai crime branch arrests 7 in child trafficking case, selling 14 kids to childless couples for prices ranging ₹80,000 to ₹4 lakh. Accused remanded in custody till May 2.

Mumbai: The Mumbai crime branch (CB) has busted an inter-state syndicate by arresting seven persons including five women and a doctor who were allegedly involved in a child trafficking case. The syndicate allegedly sold a total of 14 children including three girls and 11 boys aged between five months and four years over the past one and a half years, among whom two children had been rescued from Malad and Ratnagiri, said police. All the accused were produced in the court and remanded in police custody till May 2.

Mumbai, India – April 28, 2024: DCP Crime Branch Ragasudha R addressing the media regarding the detection of a organised inter state network involved in trafficking of babies, at CP office, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The persons who bought the 14 children have been traced and their roles are being verified, said police. “We have obtained details of nine out of the 14 children, and several police teams are working to verify and rescue them,” said deputy commissioner of police Ragasudha R from the crime branch. He said that most children were sold to childless couples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for prices ranging ₹80,000 to ₹4 lakh. “The two rescued children were sold for ₹2.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh respectively, while details of the other children are being probed,” said Ragasudha.

The arrested accused were identified as Vandana Pawar, 28, Sheetal Ware, 41, Sneha Suryavanshi, 24, Naseema Khan, 28, Lata Survade, 36, Sharad Dewar, 45, and Dr Sanjay Khandare, 42. Dr Khandare, who holds a BHMS (Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery) degree and is a native of the Parbhani district, allegedly runs a small hospital in the Thane area. Police claim the female accused arrested in the case were initially egg donors who began working as agents later.

The operations of the syndicate came to light on April 27, when officials of CB unit 2 received information that a woman had sold her five-month-old baby boy on December 13, 2022. A case was registered in connection with the incident at Vikhroli police station the same day and it was transferred to unit 2 Mumbai crime branch for investigation.

The police initiated an investigation and apprehended a woman named Sheetal Ware from Govandi, who allegedly confessed to selling her baby to Sanjay and Savita Pawar for ₹2 lakh through Dr Khandare and Vandana Pawar. “A police team then traced the Pawar couple to Ratnagiri and found the baby boy in their possession,” said Ragasudha.

The police subsequently learned that Ware was also an agent and was involved in child trafficking, and Khandare and Pawar were arrested based her confession, said Ragasudha.

The crime branch also learned that the accused had sold many children to childless couples. During further interrogation, Ware allegedly confessed that she knew one Sharad Dewar and he, along with Lata Survade, had sold a baby girl to a Malad-based Shetty couple in April 2023 for ₹2 lakh. Another police team then visited Malad and rescued the girl from the Shetty couple. Both the children were sent to Bal Asha Trust, said a crime branch officer who is part of the investigation.

During further interrogation, Ware confessed that she and Sneha Suryavanshi had allegedly sold a third child, a month-old baby, to a Hyderabad-based couple in November 2023, based on a proposal mooted by Govandi resident Nasima Khan.

“A police team has gone to Hyderabad to rescue the baby, while the biological parents have been served a notice to record their statement in the crime branch. We will verify their roles”, said Ragasudha.