LUDHIANA: The child trafficking gang that Ludhiana rural police busted on Sunday had also duped several people in Ferozepur and Fazilka through fraud marriages. They started a marriage bureau around three years ago and two years ago they got into child trafficking.In charge of CIA, Jagraon , inspector Lakhveer Singh said, “Earlier, the gang ran a marriage bureau and got some people married. In one case, the gang got their woman accomplice married to a man in Fazilka. Later the woman started accusing her in-laws of harassment and threatened to lodge a complaint against them. Thereafter, the gang members intervened and settled the matter with gold and cash. Two years ago, they thought of making money by infant trafficking.”The Jagraon police on Sunday had busted the gang with the arrest of Labh Singh of Sadhuwala, Ferozepur, Rachna of Jagat Singh Wala, Muktsar, Randeep Kaur and Rajwant Kaur, both of Nazu Shah Wala, Ferozepur. Their fifth accomplice, Suman of Fazilka, is at large. The police had also recovered a three-day-old baby girl from their possession. The gang was active in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan According to the police, Rachna and Suman used to find underprivileged families and convince them to sell their children for Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. Randeep and Rajwant would identify needy and childless couples and fix the deal.The investigating officer said, “The gang has sold nearly 12 babies in two years across Punjab and the nearby states. In 90% of the cases, the parents sold their children willingly. The gang sold a baby girl for Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and a baby boy for up to Rs 4 lakh.”How gang landed in police netThe gang got trapped when they approached the coordinator of an NGO dealing with child adoption in Ludhiana. The gang wanted to lure him for a tie-up so that they could find more childless couples. The gang members met the coordinator and shared that they have children from different districts. The coordinator doubted their credibility and informed the Jagraon police. Thereafter, cops, impersonating as a childless couple, approached the gang for a baby girl. The deal was fixed for Rs 50,000 and on Sunday when the gang delivered the baby, the police nabbed them.Parents to face actionInvestigating officer inspector Lakhveer Singh said the police were now tracing the families who had sold their babies. “The police will take action against them. We will also trace the families who bought the babies,” he said.

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