Palanpur: The abduction of a four-year-old boy and his subsequent rescue on April 6 led the Banaskantha police to bust an inter-state gang of child traffickers who sold the kids, who were then allegedly pushed into begging and other illegal activities outside Gujarat.The police launched an elaborate ‘Operation Dev’ after the minor was kidnapped in a car on April 6 from Dhanpura village of Vadgam taluka by a man who lured him with food. On being alerted, various teams of Local Crime Branch (LCB), Special Operations Group (SOG), Vadgam police station were formed, and CCTVs in an area of 70-80km up to Danta were checked.“The child was rescued within four hours from Mepada village of Vadgam, and we arrested two accused, Shailesh Gamar and Pabu alias Babu Bhagora. The deal was struck to sell the minor for Rs 1.5 lakh outside Gujarat,” said Prashant Sumbe, DSP, Banaskantha.Sumbe told TOI that Gamar kidnapped the child in a car. The boy’s family, originally from Pali in Rajasthan, was abjectly poor and was involved in begging.On the day of the crime, Gamar approached a group of children playing near a settlement, lured one of them with Rs 10 and a biscuit packet, and abducted the boy. When the child started crying, he locked him inside the car’s trunk and fled. Later, he changed the child’s clothes and cut his hair to avoidInvestigators identified that the abductors had taken the child in a silver-coloured car and moved towards Danta.Based on intelligence inputs and surveillance of bus stations, villages, hotels and other locations, more than 50 police personnel carried out continuous field operations. Ultimately, the child was safely rescued from a farm in Mepada.During interrogation, Gamar revealed that he had been in contact with Pabu for about a year. Bhogora told him that an acquaintance from a Hindi-speaking region wanted to buy a child. “Earlier, Shailesh had sold a one-month-old relative’s baby for Rs 1 lakh through Pabu. Tempted by money, he began scouting for more children,” the SP added. One minor sold earlier for Rs one lakhIn a startling revelation, police found that Pabu had earlier sold another minor girl for Rs 1 lakh. He was also involved in selling young girls and women to marriage aspirants outside Gujarat and earned a commission. DSP Sumbe said Bhagora was also involved in selling young women to marriage aspirants and earned commission. “We are investigating if they have sold more kids and women, and we are working to nab the gang members from two states involved in the bigger illegal network,” he added.
