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The operation resulted in the result of Manik Haldar, 38, and Mukul Sarkar, 32
A two-day-old baby girl was recovered during the raid and has been transferred to Howrah State Hospital for care. (File for representation)
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Sunday conducted a raid outside Howrah’s Shalimar railway station , leading to the arrest of two members of an interstate child trafficking gang — Manik Haldar, 38, and Mukul Sarkar, 32. A two-day-old baby girl was rescued during the raid and has been moved to the Howrah State Hospital.
Officials from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and members of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO, provided support and assistance to the CID team throughout the operation.
Speaking to the media, IG CID Akhilesh Chaturvedi said, “We became aware of their activities and deployed a decoy operation, placing our officers undercover as potential customers. The arrests were made when the suspects attempted to sell the two-day-old child. We are currently interrogating them to uncover further details and connections.”
Sources told News18 that this operation is part of a larger network operating across the state. While the gang seems to have members in Bihar, there are indications of links to other states.
The traffickers reportedly used a Facebook page to portray themselves as an adoption service, attracting those looking to adopt a child. The accused would then engage with these individuals online, gauging their motivations and intentions. Once they were confident that the individuals were not law enforcement officials, they would transition the communication to WhatsApp to further the illicit transaction.
The two-day-old infant, who was brought to Shalimar from Bihar, was being offered for approximately Rs 4 lakh. This meticulously planned racket has been active for some time.
Child trafficking remains a significant issue across borders, and authorities are investigating potential international connections in this case.
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