By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Haridwar, 10 Jun: Haridwar Police have rescued a three-year-old girl who was kidnapped from the Kankhal area and have also significantly busted an organised child kidnapping and trafficking gang within a matter of 72 hours. This gang is reported to be involved in stealing and selling children across several states. Six members of the gang, including two women, have been arrested. Among those apprehended are two married couples from Amroha and Bhopa in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. During the operation, police also rescued a one-year-old child who had been abducted from Delhi.
SSP, Haridwar, Navneet Singh Bhullar disclosed the details of the case at the SP City office in Mayapur during a press briefing. Bhullar stated that, on 6 May, a three-year-old girl was abducted from a slum settlement in Bairagi Camp under the Kankhal police station area. Following round-the-clock efforts on the ground and examination of hundreds of CCTV recordings, police succeeded in tracing and arresting six members of the alleged child trafficking gang.
Investigations have revealed that the gang sold kidnapped children for amounts ranging between Rs 2 lakhs and Rs 5 lakhs. The children were allegedly sold to childless couples. The gang operated in a highly organised manner, with specific roles assigned to different members, including abducting children, transporting them, identifying prospective buyers and even posing as the biological parents of the children during transactions. According to the police, the gang’s network extended across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Uttarakhand. Two of the key accused, Mohammad Aqil, Naseema and Preeti Sharma were allegedly responsible for fixing prices and arranging sales. They reportedly sold children by falsely claiming them to be their own offspring or orphaned children.
The kidnapped three-year-old girl had allegedly been lured away from a slum in Kankhal with the promise of biscuits. Following the incident, SSP Bhullar constituted multiple police teams and directed them to ensure the child’s safe recovery at the earliest. He also instructed officers to provide hourly updates on the progress of the investigation. Considering the poor financial condition of the victim’s family, police ruled out ransom as a likely motive and instead focused on possible old enmities and the involvement of organised child kidnapping gangs. Social media was also utilised to identify individuals seen in CCTV footage.
A major breakthrough came when Haridwar Police established contact with police forces in other states. Bhullar said that a one-year-old child had also been kidnapped from Delhi on 4 May. When CCTV footage from Delhi and Haridwar was compared, investigators found similarities suggesting that both crimes had been committed by members of the same larger gang. Persistent investigation eventually led police to identify six gang members, including two women, all of whom have now been arrested.
The extensive raids and arrests carried out by Haridwar Police in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh reportedly created panic among other gang members. In an attempt to evade arrest, they allegedly abandoned the kidnapped girl at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi and fled. Acting on information received from the Railway Protection Force, a police team from Haridwar reached Delhi and safely recovered the child.
During sustained interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to another kidnapping carried out on 24 May from New Delhi Railway Station. Police said the child had been sold in Badaun for Rs 1.5 lakhs. Acting on this information, the police team recovered the approximately one-and-a-half-year-old child, identified as Kartik, and rescued him safely. Investigators further revealed that the three-year-old girl abducted from Haridwar was allegedly being prepared for sale in Rajasthan. Before the accused could complete the transaction, the police succeeded in arresting all six members of the gang.
Delhi Police have been informed about the developments and preparations are underway to hand over the rescued child connected to the Delhi kidnapping case to the concerned authorities.
Police believe that additional individuals may also be associated with the child trafficking network. Accordingly, Haridwar Police will continue its investigation to identify and apprehend other possible members of the syndicate. A case has been registered under serious sections of law and the arrested accused are being produced before the court.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mohammad Aqil, son of Anish Ahmad, originally a resident of Payti Kala near Miya Satuki Mazaar under Didoli Police Station in Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh and presently residing in MDA Colony near MU University, Moradabad; Naseema, wife of Mohammad Aqil; Zulfekar, son of late Jameel Ahmad, a resident of Dariyapur village under Amroha Dehat Police Station in Amroha district; Dharmendra Kumar, son of late Hosh Ram, a resident of Sikandarpur under Bhopa Police Station in Muzaffarnagar district and presently residing in Keshav Nagar opposite the Sugar Mill in Laksar, Haridwar; Preeti Sharma, wife of Dharmendra Kumar, originally a resident of Bhojapur village in Madhogarh tehsil under Kuthond Police Station in Jalaun district and presently residing in Sikandarpur under Bhopa Police Station; and Shiva Singh alias Gaurav, son of late Rajendra Prasad, originally a resident of Pachruki Garg locality under Siwan City Police Station in Bihar and presently residing in a slum settlement near Jatwara Bridge under Kotwali Jwalapur in Haridwar.
