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, continuing to run their illegal activities. Despite special police teams investigating the case, no lead on how these infants were procured has been found.
When contacted, investigating officer Govinda Reddy declined to comment. Another top cop involved in the investigation, said, “We are still working to find out whether these babies were sold to the traffickers by their original parents or were kidnapped. Investigation into the matter is still underway. We have sent special police teams to Delhi, Pune, Vizag and a few other cities.”
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, with over 27 toddlers remaining unidentified in Shishu Vihar.
When asked about who the prime accused is and how many gangs are 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 ascertain who the prime accused or the gang’s leader is.”
When asked about what’s making the investigation sluggish, he said, “The ones arrested as of now are only agents and don’t directly contact the prime accused. They only talk over WhatsApp calls, making the investigation lag behind.”
However, sources confirmed that the accused who are in police custody have revealed two names - Anil Kumar and Kanhaiya. Sources also confirmed that Kanhaiya was reportedly only questioned, , but no further lead was available. However, Anil Kumar continues to abscond, sources said.
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 with this practice being in place for almost six to seven years. What can be ascertained from the police is that there are five to six kingpins from across the country involved in this.
However, the crux of the case - source of procurement of these babies — still remains a mystery.
