Delhi Police busted a major inter-state child trafficking syndicate across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, arresting 13 people and rescuing five infants allegedly being sold to childless couples for lakhs of rupees.
The racket came to light on June 5 when a team from the Central District’s Operations Unit conducted a decoy operation near RK Ashram Metro Station in Paharganj. Police apprehended three accused, including two women and a man, while they were allegedly attempting to sell a newborn baby boy, aged around four to five days, to decoy customers arranged by the police.
The infant was rescued safely, and the Rs 20,000 paid as token money during the operation was recovered. A case was subsequently registered at Paharganj police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act. According to investigators, sustained interrogation and technical surveillance exposed a well-organised trafficking network with suppliers, mediators, transporters, facilitators and buyers across multiple states. The syndicate allegedly procured infants from vulnerable families before transporting them to Delhi for illegal transfer.
Police said the trafficked children were sold to childless couples after fabricated medical and birth-related documents were created to falsely establish legal parentage. Investigators found that infants were purchased for several lakhs of rupees.
A key breakthrough in the investigation was the arrest of a woman doctor who owns Heera Multi Speciality Hospital in Begampur. She was arrested for trafficking infants at the hospital, identifying prospective buyers among couples seeking fertility treatment and arranging forged medical and birth records to legitimise the transfers. Gedly acted as a mediator in sourcing infants. Another accused worked as a driver and transporter for the syndicate.
Further investigation led police to the alleged kingpin supplier, identified as Saybabhai Ghamar alias Kalia, who was traced and arrested from Gujarat on June 17 after technical surveillance and a prolonged chase. Police said he sourced newborns from different parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat and supplied them to the network.
During the investigation, police rescued four additional infants from Panipat in Haryana and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. In total, five infants, including four tribal babies and one child from Delhi, have been rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee for care and rehabilitation.
DCP (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said the operation had exposed a deeply entrenched trafficking network operating across several states.
