Kolkata: 10 held for running child trafficking racket from home care centre; 20 children rescued

Kolkata news: According to police sources, 20 children have been rescued from the adoption centre. Further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the NGO has links with other child-trafficking rackets.

Kolkata: In yet another shocking incident of child trafficking, the Kolkata Police arrested the daughter-in-law of former Howrah deputy mayor and nine others from West Bengal's Salkia for allegedly selling newborn babies. Reportedly, a child trafficking racket was functional from an adoption centre. 

Based on a complaint, the Howrah City Police raided 'Cradle Baby Centre' late on Friday night and arrested 10 individuals including a woman and a West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) official. As a result of the bust, the Howrah police rescued at least 20 children from the home run by the woman for the last five years. 

The incident came to light after a girl complained to her adoptive parents that she had been sexually abused at the home. According to the police sources, the family adopted a girl two and a half years ago from Cradle Baby Centre.

After repeated complaints against the NGO, the city police formed an investigative team to probe the matter. During the raid at the baby care centre, several babies were removed from the private home by police.   

While commenting on the arrests made, a senior officer said, "We found several discrepancies, following which we made the arrests and registered a case under POCSO Act," as saying was quoted by the news agency PTI. 

The report suggests that the police is further investigating the matter to confirm whether the NGO has links with inter-state child-trafficking rackets.