Delhi Police has busted an inter-State child-trafficking racket allegedly run from a private hospital in north-west Delhi’s Begumpur, and rescued five infants while arresting 13 individuals, including the facility’s owner, officers said on Thursday (June 18, 2026).

The case surfaced on June 5 after a Paharganj resident reported seeing a woman carrying different infants over two weeks. Police analysed CCTV footage and launched a decoy operation. An undercover officer posed as a prospective buyer, and the woman allegedly agreed to hand over an infant after receiving ₹20,000 as an advance. During the handover, police arrested Jyoti, Shalu and Lalit, and rescued a four-to-five-day-old baby.

During questioning, the arrested persons revealed information about other gang members, including Pratibha, a freelance laboratory technician at Hira Hospital, driver Vipin and hospital owner Viveki, whom the police described as the “kingpin”. The other suspects were subsequently arrested and booked for human trafficking and under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Selling for profit

Police said the racket had been operating for nearly one-and-a-half years and may have trafficked at least 30 infants. The accused bought newborns from vulnerable families and sold them to childless couples at a substantial profit, said an officer.

“They bought a girl child for around ₹1 lakh and a boy child for up to ₹2 lakh. They then sold the girls for ₹3-4 lakh and boys for ₹6-8 lakh,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh, adding that three couples who bought the infants have also been arrested.

Police said the owner forged birth certificates and delivery records to facilitate illegal adoptions. Three police teams are tracing other infants and buyers.