Mumbai: Homeopath held in child sale racket for ‘accepting’ Rs 30,000 commission
MUMBAI: City crime branch investigating a baby sale racket arrested a 56-
year-old homeopathy doctor from Worli on Monday and identified four
more children aged two months to three years sold by a gang of eight to
couples.
Dr Dhananjay Boga allegedly took a commission of Rs 30,000 in the sale
of one of the babies to a family in Dadar, said investigating officer Yogesh
Chavan who is leading the probe.
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The net seems to be widening with the arrest of a doctor acting as a
middleman. Since this is the third such baby sale racket which has been busted, it shows people’s desperation to have a child
by any means. There is a need to frame stringent laws to curb this illegal trade.
28/03/2021 Mumbai: Homeopath held in child sale racket for ‘accepting’ Rs 30,000 commission - Times of India
Police are trying to trace the biological mothers of the seven babies they have found so far.
This is the third such baby sale racket that Mumbai police has busted in the past three years (see box). Sources said the
lengthy legal procedure for adoption is the reason why some couples opt for the “easy” illegal route.
After identifying the seven sold babies, city police intimated the child welfare committee (CWC) about them.
Police said they have not taken custody of these children on humanitarian grounds as most are aged under three years.
On Monday, TOI had reported that the crime branch had busted a gang of eight, including six women, that sold male children
for Rs 1.5 lakh and female for Rs 60,000.
On Saturday, crime branch Unit 1 arrested alleged gang members Arti Singh, Rukshar Shaikh, Rupali Verma, Nisha Ahire,
28/03/2021 Mumbai: Homeopath held in child sale racket for ‘accepting’ Rs 30,000 commission - Times of India
Shahjahan Jogilkar, Geetanjali Gaikwad, Sanjay Padam and Gulshan Khan. The arrested accused have been booked under the
Indian Penal Code section for human trafficking and Section 81 of Juvenile Justice Act.
While Arti Singh is a technician employed with a private pathology laboratory, Nisha Ahire, Rupali Verma and Gulshan Khan are
associated with surrogacy centres.
“Half of the arrested accused women worked as ayahs in surrogacy centres and, we believe, thus they had access to needy
couples. The modus operandi of the gang is to move around BMC-run hospitals and small nursing homes and look for women
from financially weaker sections of society who show willingness to sell their babies. They also look for women who have
accidentally got pregnant or delivered babies out of the wedlock and convince them to give the children up for adoption,” said
a police officer.
Police said the number of arrests made and the babies found is expected to rise as police have stumbled upon certain
WhatsApp chats of the accused.
Police seized eight mobile phones containing photographs of newborns and WhatsApp chats which they hope will help them
find details of the number of babies sold and trace their families in Mumbai and Pune.
.