Couple, who was arrested from Thane for running illegal adoption agency, told cops that they took the children from Bhiwandi’s commercial sex workers to save them from getting absorbed in flesh trade
Shabulan Rammurti Mali. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
The couple, who was arrested from Thane on Tuesday for running an illegal adoption agency, told police that they took the children from Bhiwandi’s commercial sex workers to save them from getting absorbed in the flesh trade.
Also Read: Baby selling racket busted in Thane, couple held
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Shabulan Rammurti Mali. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
“The accused couple — Shabulan Rammurti Mali and his wife Anjalinajyoti — claimed that since they wanted to give the kids a better life and rehabilitate them, they got the children home. Shabulan claimed that he wanted to save the girls so that they don’t get sucked in the commercial sex working racket. However, we are further investigating the motive of the couple,” said Medha Rane, sub inspector, Titwala police station.
The cops had also rescued three girls aged five, six and seven years from their flat and found that they had sold two kids in 2011 to two families — a railway ticket checker in Kalyan and a fisherman in Vasai — under the garb of adoption. “The accused said they gave an eight-day-old baby girl to Peter Samudre, a railway ticket checker and a newborn boy to Belsapa, a fisherman based in Vasai. We have found that they don’t have any legal adoption documents,” added Rane.
Read Story: Two years on, cops arrest baby-selling racket's kingpin
Parmeshwar Dhasare, district child protection officer, tipped off the police, who formed a team of Thane crime branch officers and raided the accused’s flat in Ambivli along with Anti-human Trafficking Cell. The cops later found out that Shabulan is a priest in an Ambivli church.
“Peter Samudre told us that he came in touch with accused Shabulan since he is a priest at a church in Ambivli. Peter claims that he gave Rs 1.25 lakh to adopt the baby girl for which he also has a receipt. We are yet to interrogate the fisherman and suspect that he too would have paid R1 lakh for the adoption,” said Dhasare.
Also Read: Parents cut deal to sell girl child for Rs 50,000
The arrested duo was produced in Kalyan court on Wednesday and remanded to police custody for two days. “During the investigation, we found that the couple was running an illegal adoption agency called Mamta Charitable Society from their residence,” said Rane.
“The duo made fake birth certificates of the three girls and got them admitted into a school in Kalyan,” added Rane. The three girls rescued from their flat were sent to Janani Charitable Trust in Dombivli. A case was registered at Thane Nagar police station and further transferred to Titwala police station as the accused reside in its jurisdiction.
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