Investigation has revealed that the accused used to find women who got pregnant out of wedlock and illicit relationships said police.
Published Jun 26, 2024 | 7:56 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 26, 2024 | 7:56 PM
Representational image. (iStock)
The Karnataka Police busted a child trafficking racket on Wednesday, 26 June arresting seven persons and rescuing five children who were allegedly sold by the accused to childless couples, officials said.
The matter came to light after a complaint was filed by a couple on 9 June 9 alleging that their 11-month-old infant was allegedly kidnapped by some miscreants at night while they were asleep at their home in Tumakuru’s Gubbi taluk, they said.
A special team was constituted to rescue the kidnapped child and, acting on a tip off, accused Ramakrishna (53) and his accomplice Hanamantha Raju (45), who allegedly kidnapped the infant were arrested.
Based on information provided by them, a third accused Mahesh UD (39), who was previously working as a staff nurse at a government hospital in Kunigal was arrested. The accused allegedly sold the kidnapped infant to another accused, Mubarak, for ₹1.75 lakh, a senior police officer said.
Subsequently, 44-year-old Mubarak was also arrested and the kidnapped 11-month-old infant was rescued by the police, he said.
Investigation has revealed that Mahesh used to find women who got pregnant out of wedlock and illicit relationships. He then got the children from such women and sold them to childless couples for a price of ₹2-3 lakh per child, he added.
Another accused Mehboob Sharif (52), who was also involved in the racket used to run a medical facility in the name of his wife at Huliyar and worked as a pharmacist at a Primary Health Centre, the police official said.
“Out of the nine children sold by the accused, five children have been rescued and one was found dead. Out of the rescued, one of them has been reunited with his family while the remaining four rescued children are currently at an adoption centre on the orders of the Child Welfare Committee,” Ashok KV, Superintendent of Police (Tumakuru), told PTI.
Another accused, Poornima (39), who was a contract worker at a Primary Health Centre, and Soujanya (48), who was a staff nurse at a hospital, allegedly cooperated in selling the infants. They have also been arrested in the case, police said.
A used car, ₹50,000 cash and four mobile phones have been seized from the accused. The accused created fake birth certificates for the children they sold, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
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