New Delhi: The Delhi Police has busted a child trafficking racket operating across north India, arresting 12 people, including the kingpin and owner of a Delhi In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) hospital in Rohini.
The events leading to the bust were sparked on June 5, when the Operations Unit of the Central District received a tip-off about the trafficking. Decoy customers were sent to a spot near the RK Ashram Metro Station in Paharganj. The decoys met a woman at the spot, and struck a deal for a male infant, paying a token amount of Rs 20,000. This deal led to the arrest of one Jyoti alias Kamlesh, along with two other associates Shalu and Lalit. A Tilak Nagar resident, 37-year-old Jyoti has been arrested earlier in a trafficking case.
A First Information Report under Sections 143(4), 61(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 has been registered at the Paharganj Police Station.
Sustained interrogation and technical investigation of the three accused has revealed that they were part of a larger organised inter-state child trafficking syndicate engaged in procuring infants from various sources and illegally selling them to childless couples for large sums of money, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said.
Investigations revealed that Jyoti was operating as a “key trafficker” and was obtaining infants through different intermediaries. “One such source was Kalia, who used to provide newborn infants from Rajasthan,” the DCP said. Shalu, 43, handled and delivered infants, while Lalit was involved in transactions related to trafficking.
At the instance of accused Jyoti, two more persons—Pratibha and Vipin—were arrested while they were on their way to arrange another infant. Cash amounting to Rs 2,92,400 was recovered from them, which the police say was intended for the purchase of a newborn.
All the arrests took place between 5 and 18 June. Vipin, a 33-year-old, worked as a driver and organised transport for collection and movement of infants, the police said. Pratibha, 34, holds a master’s degree in imaging and works as a freelance lab technician. She was associated with Heera Multi Speciality Hospital and was an active facilitator in the procurement and sale of infants. It was Pratibha who coordinated with the members of the syndicate to facilitate the procurement and sale of children. She has been arrested earlier in a trafficking case.
Further investigation disclosed the involvement of one Omwati, a 45-year-old who used to work as a domestic help in Gurugram. The police said Omwati acted as a mediator on several occasions and facilitated the procurement of infants later handed over to members of the trafficking network for illegal sale. She too has been arrested earlier in a trafficking case.
Kingpin of the syndicate
The investigation revealed the involvement of Dr Viveki, owner of Heera Multi Speciality Hospital, Begampur, Delhi. “Dr Viveki allegedly played a crucial role in facilitating the illegal trafficking operation by keeping trafficked infants at her hospital and identifying prospective buyers from childless couples approaching the hospital for fertility treatment,” the DCP said.
When childless parents would visit the hospital for treatment, Dr Viveki would strike a deal with them, depending on their preference. A baby girl was sold for Rs 3-4 lakh, and a baby boy for Rs 7-8 lakh. The demand for male babies was higher.
The investigation has further revealed that fabricated medical and supporting documents, including hospital records, delivery-related documents, birth-related records and other supporting papers were arranged to falsely establish parentage and facilitate the illegal transfer of infants, the DCP said.
The police said the racket operated through a “well-organised” network of suppliers, mediators, transporters, facilitators and buyers. “Infants were allegedly procured through various sources operating in different states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, and were transported to Delhi through members of the syndicate,” they said.
The children belong to remote areas and are invariably from underprivileged families. The accused told the police they were bought for Rs 10,000-15,000; in some cases the families were not informed or paid. “The infants were thereafter concealed, medically attended at Dr Viveki’s hospital, and prepared for illegal transfer to prospective buyers,” the police said.
Dr Viveki, the 47-year-old owner of Heera Multi Speciality Hospital, has been identified as the kingpin of the racket. She is the main facilitator of illegal transactions through medical and documentary support. Viveki, the police says, has degrees in nursing and critical care besides a doctorate in obstetrics and gynaecology. The second kingpin, the police say, is Saybabhai Ghamar alias Kalia, who currently resides in Sanwar Kantha, Gujarat. He is the major supplier of infants to the syndicate from various places in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The police have also identified the parents who purchased these infants. Gwalior-based Mukesh and Reema Pal, both 37, purchased two trafficked infants. Sunny Arora and Ritu Arora from Panipat, both 34, purchased one of the trafficked infants. One Sarika, 38 years of age, also from Panipat in Haryana purchased a trafficked infant.
One male infant aged around four months was rescued from Panipat, Haryana. Two infants, one male and one female, aged about 27 days, were rescued from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. One male infant has been rescued from Panipat, Haryana. Thus, a total of five infants have been rescued in the present case, of which four are tribals and one is from Delhi.
Investigation has so far revealed illegal child trafficking transactions running into several lakhs of rupees. The infants were bought for between Rs 1.5 and 2 lakh each and sold for up to Rs 8 lakh. One infant was allegedly sold for approximately Rs 6 lakh, while two other infants were allegedly sold for approximately Rs 9 lakh. All five rescued infants were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC); necessary directions regarding their care, protection and rehabilitation have been obtained.
It was a keen-eyed man from Paharganj who tipped off the police when he saw a woman in her 40s roaming about with different infants on the streets of Paharganj. He felt something was wrong. “The informant told the police that this woman would be seen with one infant, after which she would go completely missing. And then, out of nowhere, after 15-20 days, she would appear in the market, every time with a different infant,” a senior police officer said.
Established their informants and checking surveillance footage soon led the police to Jyoti. “Our investigation revealed there was a woman who did not have much presence in the area,” the officer said.
The police then decided to approach the woman, posing as a decoy customer. “When we approached one-two times, we received no response. It was because no infants were available during that time. But later we were told there was an infant available, at a token amount Rs 20,000,” said the officer.
A key piece of the racket that bothered the police was the gap between sale and delivery of the infant. This gap became key to the investigation. “When a child was bought, and when the child was sold to the parents, there was a question. Where did the children go? So the investigation led police to Rohini, where a hospital became a key point of the investigation,” said an officer.
This was the hospital where all the infants were kept till further sale. The police reckon a total of 30 infants have been trafficked by this syndicate in the past 2 years or so. Most of the babies were between 4-5 days and 3-4 months old.
Another police source told ThePrint that it was Pratibha who met multiple childless parents and realised that these couples were ready to pay substantial sums of money for children. She then got in touch with Kalia, who told her he could get infants from Pali at a cheaper rate, to be sold in Delhi. “The two then got in touch with the remaining accused through common contacts. It was led with mutual trust. The IVF hospital owner was roped in as well,” he said.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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