'Gang sold babies to couples in Haryana'

'Gang sold babies to couples in Haryana'

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN Feb 5, 2012, 02.55AM ISTTags:

Vasant Kunj police|station house officer

NEW DELHI: Cops have been forced to cast their nets wider after the abused teenager shed light on a baby boy, who was also probably sold off in the name of adoption. In this regard, a new name has cropped up, Nikki.

Nikki, say cops, is equally involved in this child adoption racket along with Munni, Pooja, her husband Sandeep and Arti. She was allegedly selling babies to childless couples in Haryana.

"If the girl's statement is true, the boy was sold off before the girl was handed over to Rajkumar at the Govindpuri Metro station. We are searching a few places in Delhi and Haryana for all suspects, who are elusive," said a senior south district officer. He added that Munni might be nabbed by next week.

The teenager told her counsellor that she had not seen the man before. Raj Kumar, Nikki and the teenager met this mysterious man at Govindpuri Metro station. "They were talking about the baby girl. The man said there are two babies - one boy and one girl. The boy was already adopted and he asked Raj Kumar if he wanted to adopt the girl," the statement mentions.

The police said Nikki's residence at Govindpuri has been found vacant. The southeast district police have detained several men in this regard.

As the hunt continues, the baby's condition continues to be critical. Doctors say that there has been no significant change in her condition in the last 24 hours. But the only good news is that she has been off ventilator support for more than 24 hours and is responding to treatment. While the infection in her lungs has cleared, the infection due to fluid accumulation in the brain continues to be a cause of concern. "Though she is in coma, she is responding to treatment. All her vital parameters are stable. Earlier, we were planning to operate upon her to create a passage for draining the infected fluid from the brain. But now we have postponed the surgery till next week," said a senior doctor at AIIMS.

In another development, the station house officer of Vasant Kunj police station, who appeared before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) bench at Lajpat Nagar, reiterated that the new offences of sections 21 and 23 of the JJ Act, 2000 - that the CWC had ordered - are completely different offences committed in the area of Safdarjung Enclave police station. The CWC bench directed the south district police to collect the details of the TV channels, which have telecast the baby's story.7