4 arrested for running baby sale racket in Mumbai
According to the police, the case came to light after a 25-year-old Mankhurd resident alleged that her neighbours had kidnapped her four-month-old daughter on Friday
Mankhurd police arrested four people on Saturday for allegedly running a baby-selling racket.
According to the police, the case came to light after a 25-year-old Mankhurd resident approached the police, alleging that her neighbours – Sharmin Khan and her husband Siddhiqe Khan – had kidnapped her four-month-old daughter on Friday.
The police detained the couple and on questioning them, discovered that they had sold the baby to an Antop Hill resident named Farzana Shaikh. The police then arrested Shaikh and she confessed to have bought the baby. She further claimed that she had sold the baby to a woman, Asha Pawar, in Chembur.
The police arrested Pawar but she had sold the baby to another woman, Julia Fernandes. Senior inspector Prakash Chougule of Mankhurd police station said that Fernandes, who had delivered a child 10 days ago, had met a couple from Bengaluru who was childless. Fernandes told them the baby is hers and she would not be able to raise the child. The couple then bought the child from Fernandes, who is yet to be arrested.
“We have not arrested Fernandes, the main accused in the case, as she is admitted to the hospital,” said an officer.
The police said that Fernandes was arrested at Wadala TT in 2017 for allegedly running a baby-selling racket and came out on bail. She used to send her clients photos of newborns on WhatsApp to crack a deal.
The baby has been reunited with her mother.