Mumbai crime news: Arrests surge to 11 in baby selling racket

Authorities found numerous pictures on Ali and Sain’s phones, hinting at involvement in a larger racket. Representation pic

In an intensified fight against the child-selling racket, Mumbai Crime Branch's Unit 09 has rescued two more toddlers, making it a total of four saved children. Three more individuals were arrested, raising the accused count to 11. Sources reveal over 30 babies suspected to have been sold, with some now aged between five and 10 years.

Officials are carefully handling legal matters to rescue these children from their illegal adoptive parents, considering the potential stress on the kids from a sudden rescue. In a recent breakthrough, the crime branch successfully rescued a 29-day-old newborn, suspected to have been stolen by a gang, as the mother remains untraceable. The child was found in Chiplun. Another case involved the rescue of a fourteen-month-old baby girl from Bhiwandi. An officer from Unit 09 said, "We suspect the arrested gang's involvement in child theft, considering their silence about the 29-day-old baby's mother, whom we are still trying to locate."

According to Unit 09, three females - Tabassum Sain, 42, from Ratnagiri, Safiya Ali, 42, from Grand Road, and Sanobar Chiplunkar, 29, from Ratnagiri - were identified. Ali and Sain were arrested for acting as agents, receiving commissions of Rs 50,000 and Rs 35,000 for facilitating the sale of a 29-day-old baby boy. Chiplunkar was arrested for purchasing the baby for Rs 2.5 lakh. Authorities found numerous toddler pictures on Ali and Sain's phones, hinting at involvement in a larger child-selling racket, including child theft cases.

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Led by Sr PI Daya Nayak, the team conducted raids in Chiplun, Virar, and Bhiwandi, rescuing two more children. The second baby girl was saved in Bhiwandi, where previously arrested suspect Ashfaque Shaikh alias Sahil had sold his minor daughter to Rohini Shirke, 63, of Bhiwandi. Shirke, believed to have a mental illness, is under further investigation. The rescued minors are being placed in St Catherine Orphan Home in Amboli, Andheri, following orders from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).