Illegal child trade racket busted, three arrested in Khammam

Khammam: An illegal child trade racket was busted and three persons were booked in a joint operation by Childline-1098 and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Khammam police commissionerate. The main accused, Modugu Meri and Uppatla Pulla Rao, who operate the racket and a man Talari Ram Babu, who was ready to sell his newborn girl […]

Khammam: An illegal child trade racket was busted and three persons were booked in a joint operation by Childline-1098 and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Khammam police commissionerate.

The main accused, Modugu Meri and Uppatla Pulla Rao, who operate the racket and a man Talari Ram Babu, who was ready to sell his newborn girl child were arrested and remanded to judicial custody by AHTU in-charge Inspector of Police, Navin, based on a complaint by K Bharani Anusha, the Childline coordinator K Srinivas told Telangana Today here on Monday.

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Six months ago unidentified persons tipped off the Childline about the racket selling newborn babies to prospective parents. The matter was taken to the notice of CDPO Kavitha and AHTU CI. After three months of monitoring the racket was identified and was put under scanner.

Then a team comprising Srinivas, Anusha, Narsimha Rao and Bhasker of AHTU took up a clandestine operation to catch the racket red-handed and got in touch with the accused, Meri and Pulla Rao in the guise of persons in need of a child.

The accused agreed to find a child for a price of Rs 4 lakh and used to update information on children and their price to the team. One week ago, Meri and Pulla Rao told the team members that there was a newborn baby available for sale and demanded Rs 1.50 lakh as advance.

As directed by the accused the team prepared a bond paper and cash for the transaction and went to ZP Centre to exchange cash to see the newborn girl child, whose mother was about to be discharged in a week from a hospital there.

The accused were arrested by the police while the transaction was underway. A case under Section 80 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, IPC Sections 511 and 109 was booked against the accused at the two-town police station.

The child’s father Ram Babu told the police that he had two girl children in the past. Since the third child was also a girl wanted to sell her. Childline Director ML Prasad, Child Welfare Committee Chairperson Bharata Rani and others appreciated the team for busting the racket.