CBI Cracks Down on Child Trafficking Ring, Files Charges Against Nine Accused

The CBI has filed a charge sheet against nine individuals involved in a child trafficking ring. The accused sold infants from poor families to childless couples for Rs 4-6 lakh. The agency has rescued five infants and uncovered that the traffickers used social media to connect with desperate couples.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet against nine individuals accused of trafficking infants from economically disadvantaged families to childless couples, officials announced on Wednesday. The infants were sold at prices ranging from Rs 4 to 6 lakh.

The CBI had dismantled the trafficking network on April 5, arresting eight suspects: Neeraj, Indu Pawar, Aslam, Pooja Kashyap, Ritu, Anjali, Kavita, and Hari Singh. Another suspect, Arti Naik, was detained later.

The charge sheet, filed before a special court, includes accusations of criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as violations of the Juvenile Justice Act. So far, five infants have been rescued.

According to a CBI spokesperson, the investigation revealed that the suspects utilized social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to advertise and communicate with childless couples seeking to adopt. The traffickers allegedly duped economically vulnerable parents into selling their infants, promising better futures for these children.

They then sold these infants to couples, providing them with falsified birth and adoption documents and impersonating the children's biological parents.