Bengaluru child-selling racket: Police reveal gang’s modus operandi, 8 arrests so far
The group has reportedly sold more than ten newborn babies to date. Most of the suspects were residents of Tamil Nadu.
Bangalore: The sleuths of the Organized Crime Wing (OCW) of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) have busted a baby sale racket and rescued a 20-day-old boy. Four people, including three women, were arrested for trying to sell a newborn baby in Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station limits. The gang was caught red-handed when they tried to sell the baby to a woman.
Soon after the arrest, shocking details emerged from the investigation, revealing that the gang targeted poor mothers who gave birth to children to be sold for anywhere between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.
The suspects were identified as Kannan Ramasaami (51), the car driver, Hemalatha Satish (27), Sharanya (33), all three from Erode and Murugeshwari (22), from Madurai. They had reportedly brought the baby from Tamil Nadu to Bengaluru after being approached by a woman and were arrested from the Rajarajeshwari temple on Friday evening.
The woman who wanted to buy the baby has been identified as Mahalakshmi and police are yet to arrest her. The police are gathering more information about her among the four arrested.
The group has reportedly sold more than ten newborn babies to date. Most of the suspects were residents of Tamil Nadu. Four hospitals and some doctors from Tamil Nadu are suspected of being involved in helping the group sell newborn babies.
According to media reports, renowned doctors from Tamil Nadu and four hospitals are involved in the scandal. “The doctors involved in the racket are yet to be arrested. Of the four hospitals involved in the racket, three have been closed,” police said.
A report in The Indian Express stated that three mobile phones and a car, worth a total of around Rs 3.15 lakh, were recovered.
The CCB sleuths have filed a complaint against the five accused at Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station. A case under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, along with other IPC sections, has been registered and further investigation is underway.