Telangana: A Month On, No Lead On Rescued Babies

Hyderabad: Even a month after they were rescued, following the busting of a huge child trafficking racket, the babies continue to remain unidentified.

The accused involved in the racket also remain at large and continue to run their illegal activities. Despite special police teams investigating the case, no lead on how these infants were procured has been found.

On being approached, the investigating officer Govinda Reddy declined to comment. Another top cop involved in the investigation said, “We are still working on find out whether these babies were sold to the traffickers by their parents or if they were kidnapped. We have sent special police teams to Delhi, Pune, Vizag and a few other cities to establish their identity.”

The senior cop revealed that so far, 12 from Hyderabad and 16 from Maharashtra have been arrested. However, he said that the real parents of the babies have not been identified yet and over 27 toddlers remain unidentified in Shishu Vihar.

On who the prime accused was and how many gangs were involved in this racket, he said, “We have still not found who the prime accused is. It could be one gang or many gangs. It will take 15 more days to establish these facts.”

On the sluggish investigation, he said, “The ones arrested are only agents and don’t have any direct contact with the prime accused. They only talk over WhatsApp calls. This is hampering the speedier progress of the investigation.”

However, sources confirmed that the accused who are in police custody have revealed two names - Anil Kumar and Kanhaiya. The latter was reportedly only questioned but no further lead was available. However, Anil Kumar remains absconding.

While the total number of babies rescued so far stands at 27, sources have revealed that more than 100 babies are victims of this racket that has been running for the last six to seven years. What can be ascertained from the police is that five to six kingpins from across the country are involved in this.

However, the crux of the case, how and where the babies were procured remains a mystery.