Mumbai crime branch arrests nine, including doctor in case

MUMBAI: The city crime branch, investigating a child selling racket, has arrested a homeopathic doctor on Monday, taking the total number of accused arrested in the case to nine. The crime branch has identified at least seven children who were allegedly sold by the gang in the last six years, said the police.

Dhananjay Boga (58), a doctor who was arrested on Monday, allegedly received Rs 30,000 commission for selling a baby girl, said the police. The nine people arrested in the case include two women who allegedly sold their kids. The rest have been identified as Rupali Verma (30), Nisha Ahir (38), Gulshan Khan (34) Gitanjali Gaikwad (38), Arti Singh (29) and a father who bought a child from one of the women. The accused were arrested under Indian Penal Code sections for human trafficking along with the Juvenile Justice Act. According to the police, Gaikwad, a nurse at a private hospital, and Singh, a lab technician with a pathology lab were the mastermind. While Khan, Ahire and Verma worked for a surrogacy centre. The mothers who sold their kids were in need of money. The families that bought the kids allegedly paid Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 to the agents, said the police. Police inspector Yogesh Chavhan of the crime branch received a tip off that few women from Kherwadi area have been running a child selling racket. Unit one took two women along with Verma in their custody last week. -