Hyderabad: Ahmedabad-based child supplier Vandana, who had been allegedly supplying children to Hyderabad-based kingpin Kola Krishnaveni, used to send the children through agents by rail and road.
Over the past month, Vandana had allegedly sent four children to Krishnaveni, but the case took a significant turn on Tuesday when Rachakonda police busted the child-selling racket and rescued four children, including a seven-day-old boy who was being transported to Hyderabad in an AC sleeper bus.
According to police, the boy was about to be handed over to a prospective childless couple when he was rescued. Authorities revealed that Vandana had only travelled to Hyderabad once a couple of months ago to meet Krishnaveni and discuss the operation. A police team has now been sent to Ahmedabad to arrest Vandana.
One of Vandana’s associates, Savitri Devi, was found to have brought the child from Ahmedabad, travelling alone for over 30 hours. During the journey, she fed the child bottled milk and kept him asleep. Savitri Devi, Krishnaveni, and nine others, including five parents and four agents, were arrested. Fellow passengers, unaware of the child’s true origin, helped Savitri Devi during the trip, even fetching milk at stops as she remained in the bus with the baby.
Police officials said that the four babies rescued had been taken from their parents just days after birth and were transported to Hyderabad. “Once Vandana is caught, more details about the racket will be known,” said an official.
The other three children had travelled by train, but due to unconfirmed tickets, the agents changed trains multiple times before reaching Hyderabad. These associates, who work on commission to safely transport the children, were unaware of how Vandana procured the children.
Investigators plan to seek the custody of Krishnaveni and other accused to further probe their activities in both AP and Telangana.
