04 October,2023 08:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
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On Tuesday, the baby trafficker, Julia Fernandes, found herself in police custody once again. This time, police officers in Trombay took action just as she was on the verge of selling a baby to prospective parents for a sum of rupees five lakh. A total of six women, including a fraudulent doctor, a mother, and agents, have been apprehended in connection with the crime. According to police records, this marks Julia's sixth arrest related to the baby trafficking crime.
The Trombay police received a tip-off about a female agent attempting to sell a baby delivered at a Nursing home in Govandi.
Acting on this information, Senior Inspector Ravindra Ranshevare directed Inspector Fareed Khan to form a team and conduct a raid by posing as a fake customer. A team of officers established contact with the agent, claiming a couple's interest to adopt a baby. The cops apprehended two women and a newborn. The agent had demanded rupees five lakh in exchange of the five-day-old baby.
On September 6, a case was registered against two women under IPC sections 370 (trafficking) and 34 (common intention).
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DCP (Zone 6) Hemrajsingh Rajput formed special teams to identify and apprehend all individuals involved in the crime.
"Upon investigation, we discovered that the woman attempting to sell the baby was a laborer, advised by a deceitful doctor based in Govandi to negotiate a deal for rupees five lakh. We subsequently traced the maternity home and exposed the doctor as a fraud, identifying her as Saira Bano Nabiullah Sheikh," revealed an official on condition of anonymity.
"Further investigation led us to the involvement of Julia Lawrence Fernandes," the official added.
Julia Fernandes has a history of criminal activities, with six previous cases of baby trafficking.
In 2022, the Crime Branch had arrested her for orchestrating the sale of babies from maternity homes located in Sion Koliwada. The police have successfully apprehended six women, namely Goribi Usman Sheikh, Shabana Zakir Sheikh, Gulabsha Mateen Sheikh, Reena Chavhan, in addition to the fraudulent doctor Saira Bano Nabiullah Sheikh, and Julia Fernandes, in connection to the crime.
