New Delhi: Scouting govt hospitals for vulnerable expectant mothers was one of the key tactics employed by the five women recently arrested for running a child trafficking racket in north Delhi, police said.The women allegedly regularly visited govt hospitals and observed expectant mothers. “They would identify women in labour or visiting the hospital for checkups. Once they spotted a target, they socially profiled the woman, evaluating her financial background, family condition and income level before striking up conversations to manipulate her into giving away her newborn,” said a senior officer. They had allegedly been running this racket for nearly three years and police have found so far that they trafficked three-four infants previously.The gang also allegedly targeted financially distressed women and lured them into surrogacy arrangements through IVF. They took custody of the babies after delivery and sold them to prospective buyers, police said.Police are trying to identify and trace some govt hospital workers who allegedly helped these women. “The special task force arrested five women during a decoy operation near Hanuman Mandir at Yamuna Bazar in Kashmere Gate,” DCP (north) Raja Banthia said. Acting on a tip-off, two police personnel posed as prospective buyers and struck a deal to buy a newborn for Rs 6.5 lakh. “After paying Rs 20,000 as token money, they were shown a four-to-five-day-old infant wrapped in a blanket, following which the police team apprehended all five accused and recovered the cash,” Banthia said.The accused have been identified as Isha (30), Harjeet Kaur (38), Shabnam (40) and sisters Priya (32) and Simran (31). All five are school dropouts. About a year ago, Shabnam allegedly approached an IVF centre to become a surrogate mother, but was rejected due to her health condition.The accused told police that they had procured the newborn through a woman in Ghaziabad for Rs 4.1 lakh. The woman was identified months before the delivery. “By the time the woman delivered the baby at home, they had already influenced her to give up the child,” the officer said.Police are now trying to identify and track the mother and trace the IVF centres working in tandem with the gang.
