Three people have been arrested for their alleged role in an inter-state child trafficking ring operating across Karnataka and Maharashtra, police said on Monday, adding that four women of the same gang were previously arrested in a similar case.
Belagavi superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled said: “The latest arrests follows the arrest of four people last week. Acting on information obtained during their interrogation, a team led by Hukkeri station inspector MK Basapur detained Sangeeta Hammannavar from Gadhinglaj taluk in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district and Mohan Tavade and his wife Sangeeta Tavade from Ratnagiri district. Efforts are underway to locate two other suspects, Nandkar Doralekar and his wife Nandini, who remain absconding.”
“The gang used to target widowed women with young children, coercing them into remarriage under the pretence of a fresh start, only to separate them from their children and sell the babies for large sums,” he said. He added that the group preyed on vulnerable women and convinced men agreeing to second marriages that the children from the previous marriage would be taken care of elsewhere.
“In one instance, the gang orchestrated the marriage of Raju Magdum and Archana, both widowed, from Sultanpur village in Hukkeri taluk. Archana had a five-year-old son with health issues. The suspects assured her that they would arrange medical treatment for the child in Maharashtra. They, however, sold him to the Doralekar couple at Sangeeta Hammannavar’s residence in Gadhinglaj for ₹3 lakh. The proceeds were divided among the gang members,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“In one instance, the gang orchestrated the marriage of Raju Magdum and Archana, both widowed, from Sultanpur village in Hukkeri taluk. Archana had a five-year-old son with health issues. The suspects assured her that they would arrange medical treatment for the child in Maharashtra. They, however, sold him to the Doralekar couple at Sangeeta Hammannavar’s residence in Gadhinglaj for ₹3 lakh. The proceeds were divided among the gang members,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The officer said that the matter came to light as Archana grew suspicious when the gang members provided inconsistent explanations regarding her son’s whereabouts. “On January 20, she filed a missing person complaint, naming the individuals who had taken her child. During the investigation, police discovered another case linked to the same gang, involving the sale of a six-month-old boy belonging to a widow named Sangeeta from the same village. That child was sold to a childless couple in Maharashtra for ₹4 lakh.” In this case, four people were arrested.
Inspector MK Basapur described the gang’s operations as a “well-organised network” that exploited widowed mothers under the guise of support. “We have solved two cases of children being sold in our jurisdiction, and ongoing investigations may reveal more such incidents,” he said.
The SP said a probe is on to identify infertility clinics which might have had possible links with the gang, as such establishments might have facilitated connections between the traffickers and childless couples.