Child Selling Racket Busted in Karnataka, 5 Arrested

Acting on a tip off about a child selling racket, officials of the District Child Protection Department posed as childless couple and trapped a woman who offered to sell a child at Rs 1.40 lakh. Later, the others were nabbed with the help of Karnataka Police.

Belgaum:A child selling racket has been busted with the arrest of five persons who used to sell infants to childless couples in Karnataka.

An operation was launched by the Karnataka Police along with the District Child Protection Department. The accused have been identified as Abdul Ghafar Ladkhan, a fake doctor from Kitturr, Mahadevi Jain from Neginahala, Chandana Subedar, Pavithra and Praveen.

The gang used to target unmarried pregnant women and take them into confidence assuring of raising their children. After delivery the baby, accused fake doctor Abdul Ghaffar Ladakhan took care of the infants for two to three months and then sold them off to childless couples for Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh.

When the District Child Protection Department got information about this, they contacted Mahadevi Jain, an accused of the child selling racket. Jain demanded Rs 1.40 lakh for a child. Accepting the deal, the department officials asked Jain to bring the child to Ramtheertha city in Belagavi.

Later, Jain fell into the trap when she came with the child. It was learnt that Jain had bought the child from Abdul Ghaffar Khan for Rs 60,000 and was trying to sell it for 1.40 lakh.

The other two accused Pavitra and Praveen, were in love with each other and former was 7 months pregnant before marriage. The couple went to Abdul Ghaffar Ladakhan in Kittur. It was learnt that Abdul Ghaffar Ladakhan had taken Rs 20,000 for aborting the child.

Police said a case has been registered in Malmaruti police station and five are being interrogated.

When ETV Bharat contacted Belagavi City Police Commissioner Yada Martin Marbanyang, he said, "A child selling racket has been busted. Five accused have been arrested and legal action is being taken against them. We are probing as to how many children have been sold by the accused till now," he said.

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