Two babies rescued from child traffickers

Mumbai Crime Branch rescues a 29-day-old baby boy and arrests three people accused of trafficking the baby. 11 people have been arrested in total for child trafficking.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Crime Branch on Wednesday rescued a 29-day-old baby boy and arrested three persons accused of trafficking the baby. Another 14-month-old baby girl was rescued from child traffickers earlier this week, and in all, 11 persons have been arrested for being involved in buying and selling children.

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The child trafficking syndicate being run in the state came to light last week after a woman informed the police about her missing siblings. Her brother and sister-in-law, who had allegedly sold off two of their three children to fund their drug habit, were subsequently arrested by unit 9 of the crime branch along with the buyer of the children.

“After the initial arrests, we started looking for the agents and middlemen who were facilitating this child trafficking. We have made a total of eleven arrests in the case, including three on Wednesday,” said Daya Nayak, in-charge of unit 9 of the crime branch.

The baby boy rescued on Wednesday was handed over to a children’s home as directed by the child welfare committee. Those arrested for selling him included Ratnagiri-based housewife Sanobar Adnan Chiplunkar, 29, who had purchased the boy for ₹2.5 lakh; Tabassum Shaifuddin Sain, 42, from Chiplun who was paid a commission of ₹50,000; and Safia Yunus Ali, 42, from Grant Road who was paid a commission of ₹35,000.

The baby girl who was rescued earlier this week was also sent to a children’s home. Those arrested for trafficking her included Ashfaque Shaikh alias Sahil who sold her to a woman from Bhiwandi.

“The buyer has several mental health issues and is under psychiatric treatment for the last 10 months. We are obtaining more details related to her mental condition, hence legal proceedings against her are awaited,” said Nayak.