Ahmedabad: Three days after a newborn baby being transported to Telangana allegedly for sale was rescued, Ahmedabad crime branch have nabbed the key accused in the racket from Danta in Banaskantha. The arrest of Yunushkhan Sindhi, 45, based on technical analysis and human intelligence and with the help of Banaskantha police, was made on Monday, severing a vital link in the inter-state trafficking racket in which newborns ‘bought’ from families in Gujarat were allegedly sold in various states, officers said on Wednesday. Sindhi also sold babies from neighbouring Rajasthan, an angle which will now be probed, an officer said.Sindhi was the key man behind the abduction and sale of the 15-day old rescued, and ran an organized ring across Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, and parts of Rajasthan. The arrest of his four accomplices — Vandana Panchal (34), Sumit Yadav (27), and Maulik Dave (32) of Ahmedabad, and Roshan Agrawal (42) of Hyderabad — on Jan 29 had led cops on his trail. Their car was intercepted near Ahmedabad airport.Police said the Gujarat-based accused worked under Sindhi and were responsible for procuring newborns from impoverished families. During interrogation, the accused revealed that the baby rescued had been purchased near Himmatnagar for Rs 3.6 lakh and was to be resold in Hyderabad to an agent identified only as Nagraj. The investigation now moves towards Rajasthan and Telangana in an attempt to dismantle the inter-state nexus. Investigators said Sindhi had been arrested in a 2023 trafficking case registered with Kalupur police under IPC Section 370, but continued to operate the racket. “In this case, he was a middleman between local suppliers and buyers in other states,” a crime branch officer said.Sindhi now faces charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The baby meanwhile remains in medical care as cops try to locate the biological parents. While the area frpm where the baby was allegedly bought has been identified, no concrete leads on his parents’ identity have emerged so far.After the arrest of the four accused, sources in the crime branch had said that fair complexioned children were priced up to Rs 7 lakh each, while those with darker complexions fetched Rs 2-3 lakh each. Sources said there was a greater premium on the male child — girl children were sold for Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh each, while boy children were offered for Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh each. Cash, mobile phones, and the vehicle of the accused were seized. Digital data is being analysed to trace contacts and payments. Amid the widened probe, police determined that at least 10 children from Banaskantha and Vav-Tharad districts were allegedly sold to childless couples in Hyderabad. Investigators said the gang primarily targeted tribal pockets of north Gujarat, where poverty and the lack of support made families easy targets. A senior crime branch officer had told TOI, “These accused persons identified childless couples with the help of their acquaintances in IVF centres in Hyderabad.” The officer said, “After identifying a couple willing to pay for a baby, the accused hunted for a child — mostly fair-skinned and good-looking, as stipulated by societal norms.”Police said many of the trafficked children were born out of wedlock. “The parents of such babies wanted to get rid of them,” the officer said. In a few cases, parents died and relatives sold the children to the accused. Officers said that the investigation is now focused on the money trail and the role of IVF centre operating across state lines.
