Doctor among 10 held for selling babies using fake adoption papers in Delhi

New Delhi: A doctor was among the 10 people arrested for allegedly selling infants unwanted by their parents to childless couples for amounts ranging between Rs 1.8 lakh and Rs 7.5 lakh using forged adoption papers, police said on Monday.

Six children, all aged below one year, have been rescued from various locations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, they said.

Those arrested include Sundar (35), the main accused, who allegedly acted as a middleman. According to the police, he worked as a medical representative and coordinated between the biological parents and prospective buyers. He also maintained contact with quacks who allegedly provided medicines to parents seeking to give up their children.

The other accused include a doctor, identified as Kamlesh Kumar (33), who owns KK Hospital located in Agra district's Fatehabad town. The doctor would take money from mothers, at a stage where they could not terminate their pregnancy, for delivering their child, after which he would allegedly sell the children.

Kamlesh was later held by the police, who disguised themselves as patients and visited his clinic.

Two sisters, Krishna (28), a final-year student in the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) program, and Preeti (30), who has already completed her BAMS degree, are also accused in the case.

Their mother worked as a midwife, and the sisters are alleged to have been involved in delivering unwanted children as well.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said that the case came to light on August 22, when Suresh, a brick-maker from Banda in Uttar Pradesh, filed a complaint stating that his youngest son had gone missing from ISBT Sarai Kale Khan late at night.

Suresh, who was travelling with his wife and four children to Behror, had stopped at ISBT to rest. While the family slept on platform number two, they discovered around 11 pm that their six-month-old baby boy was missing, he said.

A case was registered at the Sunlight Colony Police Station under Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to kidnapping and trafficking, along with provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

The team scanned CCTV footage from the ISBT and spotted suspects taking the child out of the bus stand. "Two men were seen carrying a child in suspicious condition in the CCTV. However, we could not find any leads after they exited the ISBT. We scanned mobile numbers active in the area during that time and zeroed in on four to five such numbers," the officer said.

Technical surveillance and intelligence led police to Pinahat in Fatehabad, Uttar Pradesh, where one of the suspects, identified as Veerbhan (30), was located and apprehended.

During interrogation, Veerbhan allegedly revealed that he, along with his father-in-law, Kalicharan (45), kidnapped the child at the direction of a man named Rambaran, who had promised them money for a child aged around five to six months.

The accused then took the child to KK Hospital, where Dr Kamlesh, allegedly acted as a key link in the trafficking chain. The doctor allegedly paid the trio Rs 50,000 each for carrying out the crime, the police stated.

The police then entered the premises of the hospital under the guise of patients, where a police personnel pretended to be a cardiac patient, while two others posed as attendants and insisted on treatment by the doctor.

When the doctor called them into his chamber, the team apprehended him. His interrogation allegedly revealed that the kidnapped child had been sold to a Firozabad resident identified as Sundar.

Sundar was caught after a high-speed chase of nearly 50 km along the UP-Rajasthan border while he was allegedly trying to escape after learning of the police raid at the hospital.

Sundar allegedly told the police that he sold the infant to a couple, Krishna Sharma and Preeti Sharma, in Agra. A raid was conducted at their house, leading to the recovery of the kidnapped baby, who was handed back to his parents.

The couple was arrested, and their questioning led the police to a larger network of trafficked children. They further disclosed that the boy was to be sold again to a woman named Jyotsna through a mediator, Ritu. They also revealed that they had sold another child to a couple in Nainital, Uttarakhand, the police stated.

Subsequently, raids were conducted in Nainital, resulting in the recovery of the trafficked child.

Based on technical surveillance, Ritu's house was traced, and she was apprehended. Subsequent raids were carried out in Agra and Lucknow, leading to the arrest of Jyotsna and the recovery of a two-month-old baby boy from a family in Agra to whom she had allegedly sold the child.

Another woman, Rubina Agarwal alias Rachita Mittal, was arrested after Sundar revealed her involvement. She allegedly sold multiple children, including a 10-day-old baby boy who was rescued from another Agra family.

Further investigation revealed that Sundar had also allegedly received a one-year-old girl from another accused, Nikhil, and sold her to a family in Fatehabad. The girl was rescued, and Nikhil was arrested.

Police believe this case has revealed an organised network of traffickers operating across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad, Chennai and Uttarakhand, targeting vulnerable families at bus stands and railway stations and selling the children for money.

While the four accused -- Veerbhan, Kalicharan, Preeti Sharma and Jyotsna -- have been sent to judicial custody, others, including Sundar, Dr Kamlesh, Ritu, Krishna Sharma and Rubina, are in police custody for further questioning.

Sundar is previously involved in a case under Sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 318 (cheating) and 91 (Act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) of the BNS and relevant Sections of the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic technique (Prohibition of Sex Determination).

Ritu was previously involved in a case under Section 370(2) (trafficking of persons) and 34 (Joint liability) of the IPC.

The investigation is still underway to trace more trafficked children and apprehend other absconding members of the network.

So far, one child kidnapped from ISBT has been returned to their parents, while five others have been placed in child care centres and will be presented before the Child Welfare Committee, according to officials.

Officials further mentioned that appropriate sections of the BNS relating to kidnapping, trafficking, conspiracy and the Juvenile Justice Act have been invoked, and further legal action will follow.