Bengaluru: Central Crime Branch officers have arrested seven persons including three women for allegedly selling newborn babies to childless couples after they rescued a three-week-old baby boy who was to be sold to a couple in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar area of the city.

Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the mastermind behind the racket was a woman who had previously sold three of her own children. “It is a significant racket in which trafficked babies were sold to childless parents at ₹8 lakh to ₹10 lakh.Interrogation revealed that they had sold 10 babies so far,” Dayananda said.

The illegal operation came to light after a three-week-old male child was rescued when the gang, whose members are mainly from Tamil Nadu, was seen in Rajarajeshwari Nagar under suspicious circumstances. The arrested persons have been identified as Suhasini, Gomathi, Kannan Ramaswamy, Hemalatha, Sharanya, Mahalakshmi, and Radha. A case has been registered at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station.

According to the commissioner, the modus operandi involved targeting economically disadvantaged women in Tamil Nadu. “The gang paid them money to bear children, which were later sold to couples. Similarly, they also approached pregnant women facing financial hardships or those unable to care for their newborns, buying the infants for ₹2 lakh and subsequently selling them to childless couples for ₹8 to ₹10 lakh,” the officer added.

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In response to a question about the possible involvement of hospitals and nursing homes, Dayananda said the illegal operation was active between Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru for several years and the suspects in custody had collaborated with private hospitals and doctors in Chennai.

“It has come to our knowledge that some doctors are also involved in this racket. These doctors were aware of the rackets and supported them. We will probe further into this angle in the coming days,” he said.

Commissioner Dayananda explained that the accused would liaise with childless couples, often encountered in hospitals, promising them newborns. To avoid legal repercussions, the gang prepared fake birth certificates, falsely attributing the child to the new parents. The police are working to identify the beneficiaries and accomplices involved in the racket.