Child Kidnapping Racket Busted In Hyderabad, 6 Rescued

A child kidnapping gang operating for five years in Hyderabad was busted on Monday, with the police rescuing six children and arresting five people involved in the racket.

The gang targeted children under the age of five and was operational across Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Sangareddy districts.

The gang was targeting labour class parents having multiple children, senior police officer G Vineeth told NDTV

"They have sold anywhere from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh to childless parents," he said.

As of now indication is that the children were kidnapped with the intent of 'giving' them in adoption. "The biological parents were locally migrant labour, and the children had been sent to districts nearby."

The investigation began on August 26, following a complaint regarding the kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy named Akhil. 

The police launched an intense search, which led them to the prime accused, Chilukuri Raju. 

Raju, an Ayurvedic practitioner, was the mastermind behind the operation, which involved kidnapping children and selling them through a network of associates.

Following Raju's arrest, the police caught four more individuals involved in the racket, including Mohd Asif, a vegetable vendor, Rizwana, an Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery practitioner from Siddipet, Narsimha Reddy, a mason and another person identified as Balraj.

The police also rescued six children, including the 4-year-old boy Akhil. 

The other five rescued children were identified as Arun, Ammulu, Lasya, Adivik, and Priya.

The authorities also seized Rs 5 lakh in cash from the accused. 

The rescued children have been handed over to the District Child Protection Officer for safe custody and rehabilitation.

Two of the biological parents have been traced, and the police are looking for others. Investigations revealed that at least one parent had sold two children.