14 children sold between Mumbai & Telangana in inter-state racket

Mumbai: Three women working as fertility agents and egg donors were arrested on Monday, April 29 in connection with an inter-state child-selling racket that was busted a day earlier, while two children were rescued from Ahmednagar and Hyderabad, a Mumbai police official said.

So far, the Crime Branch has arrested 10 people in the racket and rescued four children, he said.

“A one-and-a-half-year-old boy was rescued from Akole in Ahmednagar and an 8-month-old girl from Hyderabad. The three arrested women have been remanded in police custody for nine days. Four women were detained on Monday in Vishakhapatnam by the Crime Branch’s enforcement wing in connection with the case,” the official said.

The detained women, in their 30s and who are also working as egg donors and fertility agents, are being brought to Mumbai as part of the probe, the official added.

On Sunday, Mumbai police busted a child selling racket by arresting a doctor and six others. They were allegedly involved in selling an infant and a toddler.

“Our probe has found members of this racket sold at least 14 infants and toddlers from Mumbai to Hyderabad in Telangana and some parts of Andhra Pradesh. The syndicate has been operating since September 2022,” he said.

The syndicate charged anything between Rs 80,000 and Rs 4 lakh per child, while their parents were given Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000, the official informed.