Child trafficking racket busted: Eight arrested, one-year-old rescued

In a shocking revelation, an inter-state child trafficking racket involving eight individuals has been exposed, leading to the arrest of those implicated. The investigation, spearheaded by the DN Nagar police, unfolded when a concerned woman reported her brother and sister-in-law for allegedly selling their children to sustain a drug habit.

The accused parents, Shabbir Khan (28) and Saniya Khan (26), along with Shakeel Makrani (42), the buyer of their 50-day-old daughter, were apprehended on Thursday night. The infant girl was successfully rescued shortly after the case was registered. Subsequent inquiries revealed a history of child trafficking involvement by the arrested individuals.

On the following day, the police made five additional arrests, bringing the total to eight. Usha Rathod (42), the agent facilitating the sale of the Khan couple’s daughter, and others implicated in previous cases, namely Manikamma Narsappa (63), Vaishali Phagariya Jain (45), Shafique Haroon Shaikh (45), and Balkrushna Kamble (33), were taken into custody.

Inspector Daya Nayak, in charge of crime branch unit 9 leading the investigation, stated, “Through the parents and the buyer, we could track down the agents. During interrogation, they revealed that they had all been involved in similar trafficking cases before.” Phagariya, Kamble, and Shaikh confessed to multiple instances of child trafficking, with Kamble even admitting to selling his one-year-old daughter with the assistance of Shaikh.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection 1) Rajtilak Roshan confirmed, “We rescued the newborn daughter of the Khan couple on Thursday a few hours after the case was registered. Both the rescued children are in the custody of the child welfare committee.”

The arrest of the eight individuals has reportedly unveiled a network involved in at least eight cases of child trafficking. The illicit transactions spanned across Mumbai, Palghar, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Authorities are intensifying efforts to locate the missing two-year-old son of the Khan couple.

This disturbing revelation underscores the urgency of addressing the pervasive issue of child trafficking, with the arrested individuals not only involved in the latest case but also connected to a series of prior incidents. The illicit trade in children for nefarious purposes, as revealed by the ongoing investigation, necessitates a comprehensive response from law enforcement agencies to dismantle the entire network and ensure the safety of vulnerable children across state borders.

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