MP Police bust gang involved in child trafficking, arrest 5

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Police have busted a gang involved in child trafficking in the state and arrested five people so far while a search for a woman doctor, suspected to be the kingpin, was under way, said officials.

The matter came to the fore after two minor girls were kidnapped from a temple premises in Bhopal on Saturday on the behest of ‘Kanya Bhojan’ during the Navratri festival. Following the incident, the Bhopal Police swung into action and over 200 CCTV cameras were scanned for the next three days.

A war footing investigation led the police towards a posh residential society — English Villas society — located in the Kolar area in Bhopal. During a raid on Tuesday, the police rescued both the minor girls — Kajal (8) and her 11-month-old sister Deepawali.

The police have arrested five persons namely — Archan Saini (36), her live-in partner Nishant (31), and Suraj (19) and Muskan (20). During the interrogation, police learnt that the group has been operating a child trafficking racket for the last few years and that the group was connected with a Delhi-based group.

Police said that Archana Saini, who is the main accused in the case, hails from Punjab while her live-in partner Nishant hails from Karala. “We have arrested five persons and a hunt for a woman doctor, who is suspected to be the main kingpin, is underway. Our further investigation is still under way,” Bhopal police commissioner Harinarayana Chari Mishra told the media.

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Police also said that during the interrogation it has found that the group has been involved in child trafficking for the last few years and children were transported to Delhi and some other states. After busting the gang in Bhopal, the police will lead the investigation into some other states.

On an average 32 children were reported missing in Madhya Pradesh every day in 2022, according to a report of an NGO, ‘Child Right and You’.