CBI files chargesheet against nine in infant trafficking case
Jul 24, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 24 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet on Wednesday against nine accused in an alleged case of trafficking, sale and purchase of infants, officials said.
The agency officials said that they have filed the chargesheet before the competent court against nine accused u/s 120B, 370(4)(5) and 420 IPC and Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, in the case related to trafficking, sale and purchase of infants.
The Court has taken cognizance of the offences against all the accused persons.
Out of the chargesheeted accused, eight accused traffickers were earlier arrested by the CBI and sent to judicial custody.
The CBI registered a criminal case on April 5 this year under various penal provisions of the IPC and also that of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 against a network of accused persons involved in the trafficking, sale and purchase of infants.
Searches were conducted at various locations across Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan, and incriminating evidence were recovered. During the investigation, five infants have also been rescued so far.
An investigation has revealed that the accused persons, through advertisements on social media platforms like Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups, get connected with childless couples across India who are desirous of adopting babies.
They purchased the infants from parent(s), who were economically downtrodden, by deceiving as well as inducing them. Subsequently, these accused persons sold the infants at the prices ranging from 4 to 6 lakhs (approx) per infant to the needy couples, deceived them by creating fake documents related to birth & adoption and also impersonated them as biological parents.
Further investigation is continuing.
The public is reminded that the above findings are based on the investigation done by the CBI and the evidence collected by it. Under Indian law, the accused are presumed to be innocent until their guilt is finally established after a fair trial, the agency added.
