A two-month-old baby girl was rescued from the clutches of human traffickers in the capital with the arrest of two persons, including a nursing home owner, police said today.
The two arrested persons have been identified as Sumit (28) and Niharika (26).
Sumit, the owner of the Ghaziabad nursing home, desired to be a doctor but dropped out from an ayurveda college. Niharika worked with Sumit and pursuing a nursing career.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said the duo were arrested from east Jyoti Nagar yesterday on a tip-off and the baby girl rescued from them.
"On the orders of the Child Welfare Committee, the child has been admitted to an NGO 'Udyan' in Gole Market. Efforts are being made to trace the parents of the child.
"Possibility of involvement of these criminals in other similar offences is not ruled out at this preliminary stage of investigation," Yadav said, adding that the arrests came following probe into an input about involvement of some people in human trafficking
A decoy customer approached the accused and struck a deal for Rs three lakh, the ACP said.
"Sumit told us that while running the nursing home, he came in contact with one Dina Nath who was involved in human trafficking. Nath offered Sumit handsome amount for being part of the gang. A few days ago, Nath and Sumit managed to get a baby girl and they were trying to sell her to prospective buyers," Yadav said.
Sumit, who hails from Baghpat in UP, belongs to a farming family. In 2003, he came to Delhi and started working in a medical store.
Four years later, he took admission in a BAMS college in Bihar's Muzaffarpur but could not complete his course. "His desire to become a doctor was so strong, that although he does not possess requisite qualification, he started running a nursing home in Loni," Yadav said.
Niharika, whose father was a security guard in a private factory in Loni, could not complete her graduation and started working in private companies. In 2006, she came in contact with Sumit, who is one of her friend's husband.
"Currently, she is pursuing her nursing course from Subharati Medical College in Meerut. Sumit lured her to join this illegal activity with the promise of easy money," Yadav said.
