Bengal: Racket involving trafficking of newborn babies in biscuit cartons busted

The West Bengal police, on 23 November, busted a racket that involved trafficking babies less than 24-hours-old carried out by a private nursing home in Bengal. The babies were allegedly bundled into biscuit cartons and transported by road to a government hospital where they were sold.

According to media reports, eight people including the owner of a private nursing home, a woman identified as Nazma Bibi were arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Bhaduria in 24 Parganas, 85 kms from the state capital of Kolkata.

The police caught the staffers red handed when they raided the hospital and checked the locked room which the hospital used to store medical supplies. The police said that they were shocked to discover three new-born babies in biscuit cartons; out of which, one baby had been delivered just hours earlier.

A leading daily quoted Dr. Bharat Lal Meena, a senior police officer, as saying, "We have rescued three new born babies. There are doctors involved in this."

The police believe that that unmarried women's were paid three lakh and one lakh for baby boy and baby girl respectively to not have abortion. The baby would be shifted to a nearby state-run hospital in Basirhat and from there they would be smuggled away in biscuit cartons.

"We suspect that this racket was on for three years. As of now we believe at least 25 babies were sold. We are not sure of the number as we have to go through their records in our investigation," Dr Bharat Lal Meena said.

The police also suspect the role of an NGO in identifying potential buyers.

"We have traced three couples who were victims of this racket and one couple has been reunited with their baby," Dr Meena added.