Police Struggle to Trace Parents of Seven Rescued Babies in Rohini Trafficking Case
The Delhi Police investigation into a major child trafficking racket busted in mid-June at Hira's multi speciality hospital in Rohini's Begampur area has hit a roadblock, as officers struggle to trace the biological parents of seven rescued newborns. While 15 people have been arrested in connection with the syndicate, investigators are finding it difficult to match the rescued infants with their families due to a complete lack of hospital records.
The syndicate, which allegedly operated for two years, is believed to have trafficked and sold around 30 newborns. According to the police, the gang targeted economically vulnerable families in Rajasthan and Gujarat, purchasing babies for ₹1.5 lakh to ₹2 lakh. They then sold the infants to childless couples in the National Capital Region (NCR), Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat for prices ranging between ₹3 lakh and ₹7 lakh. The illegal adoptions were disguised as IVF births using forged hospital documents.
Among the 15 people arrested so far are the hospital's owner, alleged traffickers, mediators, transporters, and buyers. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has divided its operations into two teams: one focused on tracing the remaining 20-odd sold babies, and another dedicated to identifying the biological parents of the seven rescued infants.
A major hurdle for the SIT is that the hospital maintained virtually no records regarding where the babies originated. This lack of documentation has severely stalled efforts to identify the parents.
Investigators recently searched areas in Rajasthan and Gujarat based on disclosures made by a key accused, Saybabhai Ghamar, also known as Kalia. Kalia allegedly procured babies from the Pali region of Rajasthan for multiple trafficking networks. Although police located three or four couples with missing infants in these states, subsequent DNA testing and verification ruled them out as the parents of the rescued babies.
Despite the setbacks, police officials stated on Tuesday that they have developed strong leads regarding one or two couples who may be the biological parents of two of the rescued infants. An SIT member expressed optimism that they are close to reuniting at least two babies with their families.
