An inter-state gang of 7 including a doctor were arrested on 27th April, Saturday by the crime branch for selling babies to different parts of the country. Those arrested were, Vandana Pawar (28), Sheetal Ware (41), Sneha Suryavanshi (24), Naseema Khan (28), Lata Survade (36), Sharad Devar (45), and Dr Sanjay Khandare (42). The accused, mostly women, were agents who worked in two of Thane's fertility clinics.

The police have rescued two of the babies who were sold and also found more information on the childless couples who bought them.

The cops were alerted when a case was registered at the Vikhroli police station. Further revealing more details, they said that Khandare, a homeopath, ran a Thane-based hospital. During the investigation, cops received information that more than 12 babies were sold mostly to childless couples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. They have distributed police teams to search thoroughly in these 2 states. Children aged between five days and nine months were sold for two years from Sept'22 to Feb'24. The information police received on Saturday stated that Kanta Pednekar, a Vikhroli resident allegedly sold her son for Rs.2 lakhs to a Ratnagiri couple on 13th Dec, 2022. She sold her child through Sheetal Ware, one of the accused.

The police arrested the accused and also found out that the women arrested had sold their eggs to these fertility centers in the past.

Ragasudha R, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, gave some reassuring news that Pednekar's son and another baby girl have been rescued from Ratnagiri and Nalasopara respectively. The Nalasopara girl was reportedly sold to a couple in Malad.

(Input from various media sources)

(Rehash/Aditi Madathingal)