Haridwar police have arrested six individuals, including two couples, in connection with an interstate child trafficking racket. During the operation, two children were rescued, while authorities continue efforts to locate two others who remain missing, officials said.
Details of the Arrests
The accused have been identified as Mohammad Aqeel and his wife Naseema, residents of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh; Preeti Sharma and her husband Dharmendra Kumar from Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh; Zulfikar, a resident of Amroha; and Shiva Singh, a resident of Siwan in Bihar. Police stated that the gang primarily operated across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi.
Modus Operandi
According to police, the racket was allegedly run by Aqeel and Preeti, who abducted young boys and sold them to childless couples for amounts ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. A one-year-old boy abducted from New Delhi Railway Station in May was allegedly sold to a couple in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, for Rs 2 lakh. He has since been rescued, police said.
Police also rescued a three-year-old girl who was abducted from Haridwar. Investigators said the gang had allegedly mistaken her for a boy and abandoned her at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi after realizing she was a girl. She was later recovered safely.
Ongoing Investigation
SSP Navneet Singh said, “Preeti and Aqeel are the gang operators, and both targeted male children. Their criminal backgrounds have been verified and operations are underway to trace a five-month-old girl and a seven-month-old boy who were abducted from the Har-Ki-Pauri area and Piran Kaliyar. The involvement of the accused in both cases is also being examined.”
