Infant trafficking racket busted in Bengaluru, seven 'agents' arrested; doctors' link suspected
Bengaluru: An infant trafficking racket has been busted in the city with the arrest of seven people, Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said on Tuesday, adding that the involvement of doctors is suspected.
A 20-day old male child was rescued when the gang, whose members are mainly from Tamil Nadu, was seen in Rajarajeshwari Nagar here in suspicious circumstances.
The arrested persons have been identified as Suhasini, Gomathi, Kannan Ramaswamy, Hemalatha, Sharanya, Mahalakshmi and Radha, police sources said adding that a case has been registered at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station.
The gang was allegedly involved in stealing, and then selling newborn babies at a ''high price'' to childless couples, and most of the children sold in Bengaluru are suspected to have been brought from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
''It is a big racket in which trafficked babies are sold to childless parents at Rs eight lakh to Rs 10 lakh. An interrogation by the Central Crime Branch revealed that they have sold 10 babies so far," Dayananda told reporters.
According to him, a large network is behind the racket and it also involves some doctors from Tamil Nadu.
''The gang had been doing it for many years but only recently their activities came to light,'' the police commissioner said. ''We have taken them into police custody and are interrogating them.'' The gang was also providing forged documents to the childless parents after selling the babies, he added.
To a question on the possible involvement of hospitals and nursing homes, Dayananda said, ''It has come to our knowledge that some doctors are also involved in this racket. We are investigating the role of doctors from Tamil Nadu.''
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
