Raebareli,

21 May (HS): An interstate gang involved in abducting and unlawfully selling

newborns by targeting vulnerable women at railway stations and bus terminals

was identified in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli district, with police saving a

nine-month-old kid and detaining nine suspects, officials said. According to

investigators, the gang worked via deceit and emotional manipulation, with

members befriending mothers traveling alone with children before abducting

newborns and reportedly trafficking them through a larger network spanning

numerous states. The matter arose after a woman from Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh,

who now lives in Delhi, filed a complaint at the Kotwali Nagar police station

in Raebareli. According to police, the mother had left Delhi after a personal

quarrel and was traveling by train with her two children on May 13 when she saw

an unidentified man and woman.

During

the ride, the lady gradually acquired the complainant's trust and, soon before

the train arrived at Raebareli, seized possession of her nine-month-old kid

under the guise of feeding and caring for him, police said. After arriving at

Raebareli railway station, the accused duo reportedly brought the complainant

outside to a food shop before fleeing with the child, according to authorities.

Based on the complaint, police opened a case under the relevant sections of the

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and organized several teams to locate the kid and

identify the offenders.

During

interrogation, cops discovered that the accused were reportedly part of an

organized interstate network involved in the unlawful acquisition and selling

of newborns. According to police, gang members deliberately targeted women

traveling alone with young children in congested public locations such as train

stations and bus stops.

They

would initially make contact, give emotional support, win the victim's

confidence, and then seize the moment to remove the child. After abducting a

kid, the accused reportedly contacts other members of the network and

negotiates the sale of the newborn to prospective purchasers looking for

children, according to authorities, with proceeds dispersed among gang members.

According to officials, the youngster was reportedly taken by Ramkumar Das and

his wife Reshma, who then made preparations to pass over or sell the newborn

through other members of the network. The detained suspects include Ramkumar

Das and his wife Reshma, both from Bihar's Araria district; Sumit Kumar of

Rampur; Sanjay Kumar, Brahmpal Singh, Babita Saini, and Archana Singh of

Moradabad; Harish Chandra of Amroha; and Kiranjeet Kaur of Udham Singh Nagar,

Uttarakhand.

Police

also found an abducted child and confiscated a car allegedly involved in a

crime.

Officials

stated that CCTV video, surveillance inputs, train station movement analysis,

technology tracking, and human intelligence were utilized to track down the

accused and recreate the child's movements. Acting on specific information, a

combined squad of Kotwali Nagar police and Special Operations Group

(SOG)/Surveillance squad nabbed the accused near the railway colony water tank

area on May 20 and successfully rescued the child.

During

the inquiry, additional laws connected to organized crime were triggered under

BNS, taking into account the involvement of many accused and the structured

character of the operation, officials said. According to police, the accused

are being brought before a court for judicial remand, and further investigation

is proceeding to look into the racket's potential interstate linkages.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi