New Delhi: The CBI busted a syndicate of child traffickers on Friday evening and rescued two newborns -- a two-day-old and another 15-day-old. The agency arrested seven persons engaged in peddling infants to childless couples through ads on Facebook and WhatsApp channels.


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In today's DNA, Zee News anchor Ram Mohan Sharma analysed the 'Modus Operandi' of the child traffic racket in the national capital.


Based on a tip-off, the CBI conducted simultaneous raids across various locations in Delhi and Haryana on Friday evening. Seven individuals were apprehended from a residence in the Keshavpuram area of Delhi, where three newborns were rescued. Among them are two boys, aged one and a half days and 15 days respectively, along with a baby girl about one-month-old. The CBI officials revealed that these infants were either abducted from different places or procured for sale, with the arrested individuals including both the woman who facilitated the transactions and the buyers.


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Today, the accused were presented in court, and subsequently, seven of them were remanded to CBI custody. The agency has identified Indu and Neeraj as the masterminds behind this illicit network. This syndicate reportedly acquired infants from parents or surrogate mothers in hospitals and then sought out potential adoptive parents via social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. They would then forge adoption documents to facilitate the sale of these children.


CBI alleges that this group treated newborns as commodities in the black market, fetching prices ranging from Rs 4 to 6 lakh per child. Sources indicate that this gang has trafficked approximately 10 infants in the past month alone. Moreover, the network's operations extend beyond the Delhi NCR region, implicating personnel from several prominent hospitals across various states. Shockingly, a government official, purportedly an Assistant Labor Commissioner, has been implicated as the mastermind of this syndicate.


The CBI emphasizes that its investigation into this child trafficking ring is ongoing and expects to uncover further revelations. With several arrests already made, including that of a hospital ward boy, it is anticipated that additional individuals linked to various hospitals will be apprehended. The full extent of this syndicate's reach is yet to be determined, with more arrests likely forthcoming.