Human trafficking racket busted, 3 children rescued

Hyderabad: A child lifting gang was busted in Chandrayangutta and three children were rescued. During preliminary investigation, police found out that the gang got into human trafficking by selling kids to childless couples.

Chandrayangutta police said that seven members of the gang — Vakapalli Gangadhar Reddy, P Jyothi, G Prasad, G Sindhu, S Aruna, K Munna and P Lakshmi — were arrested, while two others -- Syeda Bee and Kanaka Raju — are still at large. Acting on a tip-off, cops on Tuesday nabbed Gangadhar, who spilled the beans on his role in child abductions. Based on the leads provided by him, police rescued a two-and-a-half year old Shaik Sofiyan, two-year-old Shaik Khaja and a month-old baby girl, who were sold away by the accused after they were abducted. A kidnap case was registered by Chandrayangutta police on March 26 after Sofiyan went missing. Two police teams were formed and sent to Eluru, Rajahmundry and Amalapuram to trace Sofiya, who was rescued. During questioning, the accused gave details about the other children who were also sold. Sofiyan was sold for Rs 2.80 lakh. Khaja and the infant were sold for Rs 3.10 lakh and Rs 2.50 lakh.