Mumbai, April 19 (UNI): In a major breakthrough in a child trafficking case, the Mumbai Police have rescued two minor children and arrested a woman doctor from Hooghly, West Bengal, officials said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Dr. Reshma Santoshkumar Banerjee (43), was apprehended following a months-long interstate probe that began with a missing persons complaint lodged on August 5, 2024.
According to police, Amar Dhiren Sardar (65) had reported his son-in-law, Anil Purvayya, and two-year-old grandson missing. Investigations revealed that Anil had allegedly sold his child for ₹1.6 lakh, with the assistance of three accomplices: Asma Shaikh, Sharif Shaikh, and Asha Pawar.
Anil and Asma were arrested in Mumbai, and during questioning, they disclosed Asha Pawar’s involvement. Pawar was later nabbed in Hyderabad, where she confessed that the child had been sold on July 9, 2024, at Bhubaneswar railway station to Dr. Reshma, with the others acting as intermediaries.
Police used technical surveillance to trace Dr. Reshma’s movements across hospitals in Bhubaneswar, including Hi-Tech Dental Hospital and SUM Hospital, but found she had resigned from both facilities. She was eventually located and arrested in Serampore, West Bengal, along with the trafficked child and another unidentified three-year-old girl.
The accused was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Serampore, and a transit remand was obtained. The children were presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Hubli, with one child handed over to Mumbai Police, while the unidentified girl was placed in a local shelter home.
Dr. Reshma was later produced before a Mumbai court and has been remanded in judicial custody.
Authorities are now investigating the larger network involved in the trafficking operation and attempting to trace the origins of the second rescued child.
