- A major inter-state child trafficking racket was busted, and mastermind Murugan was arrested
- Operation Dev spanned Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana, involving newborn infant sales
- Murugan transitioned from IVF work to trafficking, selling infants for Rs 4-5 lakh each
In a major breakthrough, a sophisticated inter-state child trafficking racket was busted, and its mastermind, Murugan, was arrested along with his associates. The operation, codenamed 'Operation Dev', spanned four states – Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana – revealing a dark trade where newborn infants were sold for lakhs of rupees.
The case began on April 6, with the kidnapping of a four-year-old boy named Dev in Gujarat's Banaskantha district. While the Local Crime Branch (LCB) successfully rescued the child and arrested three local suspects, the interrogation opened a "Pandora's Box" of organised child trafficking.
The AI-Powered Manhunt
The police utilised artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technology to track the syndicate's kingpin. The mastermind, identified as Bodashu Nagaraju alias Murugan, was traced to Kagaznagar in Telangana. A specialised team from Palanpur coordinated with local authorities to apprehend Murugan and two of his key agents, Kasarapu Tirupati and Keleti Gangadhar.
Modus Operandi: From IVF Centres To Trafficking
The investigation revealed a transition from medical mediation to crime. Murugan and his wife initially operated within the IVF industry, identifying healthy women for egg donation and surrogacy to earn commissions. Realising that the illegal sale of newborns offered much higher profits, they built a network of agents across major Indian metros. Infants were sourced from vulnerable families or through kidnapping and sold to childless couples or other intermediaries for amounts ranging from Rs 4 to 5 lakh per child.
The Scale Of The Racket
So far, the police have confirmed the trafficking of 8 infants. Two from Gujarat and Mumbai each, three from Hyderabad, and one from Delhi.
Major Breakthroughs And Seizures
Police recovered Rs 1.50 lakh in cash, believed to be the proceeds from a recent sale, from an agent intercepted on the Mumbai-Vadodara highway. Apart from the three local kidnappers, three inter-state handlers are in custody. Police have identified four to five additional agents in Mumbai and Hyderabad who are currently on the run.
FIRs have been registered at the Vadgam and Danta police stations for kidnapping and child trafficking.
"This was a highly organised syndicate that treated children as commodities. By using AI and inter-state coordination, we have managed to break the backbone of the Murugan gang, which has a prior history of similar crimes in Maharashtra," said a senior police official.
Police are now working with child welfare committees in multiple states to trace and recover the eight infants sold by the gang to ensure their safe return or rehabilitation.
