Dharamshala, February 24 The Himachal Pradesh Police has arrested six members of an inter-state gang involved in trafficking newborns, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to nine, officials said on Tuesday.
Of the total arrested, seven are women, they said, adding that the gang obtained infants through illegal means and gave them to childless couples in exchange for money.
On February 21, the Dehra Police had busted a gang and rescued a minor following a complaint lodged by Kangra resident Rohit Rana on February 17 in which he alleged that a person named Deepak Anand had cheated him of Rs 23,500 under the pretext of arranging the adoption of a newborn. An FIR was immediately registered.
Deepak Anand (40), a native of Punjab's Jalandhar who lived in Kangra, was arrested and produced before the court. He was remanded to five days' police custody, according to superintendent of Police (SP) Dehra Mayank Choudhary.
Investigation revealed that Deepak was working as an agent for a Punjab-based gang involved in trafficking of babies. He used to identify and contact childless couples and connect them with gang members operating from Punjab.
Subsequently, two women – Maninderjit Kaur alias Ritu (47), and Anita alias Asha (59) – were apprehended from Batala and Jalandhar and remanded to three days' police custody.
Financial scrutiny revealed transactions amounting to Rs 4.85 lakh in connection with the illegal deal. A minor was also recovered and, as per orders of the Juvenile Justice Board, the child has been handed over to the Special Adoption Agency for care, protection and further legal proceedings, the police said.
The police constituted special investigation teams and carried out an intensive probe, examining technical evidence and financial trails, and six more persons were arrested from various locations in Punjab on Monday, Choudhary added.
The six arrested are Neelam Singh (54), Rimpi (38), Jasmel Kaur (60), Karamjit Kaur alias (34), all from Bathinda in Punjab, Kiran (30) from Sirsa in Haryana and Kulwinder (45) from Jalandhar in Punjab.
All accused are being produced before the competent court, investigations are underway and further disclosures are expected as interrogation continues, the police added.