Banaskantha, Apr 20 (PTI) Police investigating the abduction of a four-year-old boy from Banaskantha district in Gujarat earlier this month, have busted an inter-state child trafficking racket by apprehending its kingpin from Telangana, officials said on Monday.
The gang, known as the “Murugan Gang,” was allegedly involved in trafficking newborn babies from Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana, and Maharashtra, and selling them at high prices. So far, police have established the abduction and sale of at least five children.
On April 6, a four-year-old boy, who was abducted from Vadgam, was rescued, leading to the arrest of two suspects by Banaskantha Police. During interrogation, investigators uncovered a wider network linked to the crime. Technical intelligence
later indicated that another key suspect was operating from Telangana.
“Police tracked down the main accused, identified as Bodashu Nagraju alias Murugan, through technical analysis and arrested him and two of his accomplices, Kasrapu Tirupathi and Keleti Gangarajan. They are residents of Telangana,” said Banaskantha superintendent of police Prashant Sumbe.
According to officials, the main accused was initially involved in arranging women for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures. He would identify women unable to conceive and connect them with healthy women, sending them to IVF centres in exchange for Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000.
However, lured by higher profits from selling newborns, he later came into contact with local and interstate child trafficking agents. The gang would obtain newborn babies within 24 to 48 hours of birth and sell them at high prices, according to a release issued by the Banaskantha Police.
The accused allegedly abducted infants from Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi, and sold them through local agents for large sums.
All three accused have been taken into custody and were interrogated in Palanpur. During questioning, police found that the gang had sold two children each from Gujarat and Maharashtra, three from Telangana, and one from Delhi.
The investigation is ongoing, and efforts are underway to rescue the trafficked children, officials added. PTI KVM PD NSK
