Two of the three arrested women are Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in Punjab.
Five persons, including a Punjab Police constable and three women, who were arrested for running a child trafficking racket by selling newly born babies in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, were remanded in seven-day police custody, on Tuesday.
Two of the three arrested women are Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in Punjab. A three-day old male child was recovered from them. The gang members have reportedly confessed their involvement in the selling of at least two children including one in Delhi and another in Chandigarh.
Police sources said that the whereabouts of a girl child, who was sold in Chandigarh, have been ascertained, and added that she will be recovered shortly.
A police team was also dispatched to Delhi to ascertain the whereabouts of another child, who was sold there three weeks back. Police sources said the role of two doctors based in Malerkotla is also under the scanner.
Police investigation revealed that the gang charged Rs 4 lakh for a male child and Rs 1 lakh for a girl child. “A deal was struck with the gang members through a decoy customer, Surinder Singh Sabi of Sector 37, who agreed to pay Rs 4 lakh for a male child. The child was born last Saturday afternoon at a hospital at Malerkotla in Sangrur district,” said sources.
The two ASHA workers have been identified as Sarabjeet Kaur of Sangrur and Kuldeep Kaur of Patiala district. The other accused Bhawna is from Punjab and lives at a rented accommodation in Sector 45, Chandigarh. Police said the Punjab Police constable held in the case, Amarjeet Singh, is a resident of Kharar in Mohali. Another accused, Mandeep Singh of Ludhiana is the brother of accused Sarabjeet Kaur.
“We received information about the illegal sale of children by a Punjab based gang. We prepared a decoy customer and a deal was struck for Rs 4 lakh for a male child. The five accused were coming along with the child to sell the child at Chandigarh and were caught near Airport Light Point Dakshin Marg, on Monday night. Punjab Police constable Amarjeet Singh is a driver with the SHO of PS Balongi in Mohali. They were all travelling in his Alto. The rescued child was shifted to a government hospital. Efforts are being made to trace his parents,” said SHO PS 31, Inspector Paramjeet Kaur Sekhon
“Whether the accused stole the child or struck the deal also involving the parents of children is a matter of investigation. So many aspects remain to be probed. We have identified an earlier sold girl child in Chandigarh. The child will be recovered shortly. The ASHA workers used to keep a tab on the expecting women in their jurisdictions,” said sources.
A case was registered at PS 31.