Police arrest 16 in Ghaziabad child trafficking bust after rescuing kidnapped infant
The Tronica City Police have dismantled an interstate child trafficking syndicate following the rescue of a kidnapped newborn baby girl from Pooja Colony in Ghaziabad.
The baby, who was kidnapped on May 26, was rescued earlier this month, leading to the arrest of 13 suspects. On Friday, police arrested three additional syndicate members—Tarannum (29), Anil Lakda (33), and Karun (49)—in Tronica City, bringing the total number of arrests to 16.
The investigation revealed that the infant's parents, who work as labourers in Ghaziabad, were initially approached by the syndicate to sell their child before she was born. Although the parents initially considered the offer due to financial vulnerability, they refused to hand over the newborn after her birth in May.
Following their refusal, a woman named Pooja, who had been pursuing the family, allegedly kidnapped the 11-day-old infant from her home in Pooja Colony on May 26. Pooja then handed the baby over to another accused individual, identified as Manoj.
According to the police, the syndicate planned to transport the baby girl to Andhra Pradesh to sell her to a couple identified as Raju and Deepti. However, using CCTV footage, local intelligence, and a tip-off, the Tronica City Police tracked down the suspects, rescued the infant, and arrested Pooja, Manoj, and 11 others earlier this month.
The three suspects arrested on Friday—Tarannum, Anil, and Karun—disclosed during interrogation that they joined the gang through another member named Pradeep. The syndicate operated across the Delhi-NCR region, identifying expecting parents from financially weak backgrounds. While the gang operated locally, their primary buyers were concentrated in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Police officers stated that the gang members communicated primarily through WhatsApp to share information about potential targets and deleted their messages once a transaction was completed.
The syndicate also utilized counterfeit currency to pay families who agreed to sell their children. Officers explained that the gang mixed fake notes with genuine currency to pay the parents. By the time the parents discovered the counterfeit money, the gang had already fled with the child. Due to their own involvement in the transaction, the parents were often too afraid to report the matter to the police.
During the latest arrests on Friday, police recovered fake currency notes worth Rs 2,500 and four mobile phones from the possession of the accused.
