Child Trafficking Racket Bust in Mumbai: 6 Women Held For Selling 5-Day-Old Baby

On October 3, Julia Fernandez - a baby trafficker- was arrested again in Mumbai. This time Mumbai Police caught her red-handed when she was on the verge of selling a baby for INR 5 lakhs. In this case, six women including a fraudulent doctor have been arrested.

According to official police records, this is Julia's sixth arrest. She has been arrested five times from different locations for child trafficking.

The Mumbai Police got a tip about her activity. This time she was selling a baby delivered at Govandi's Nursing Home.

The officials making use of this information, made a plan to arrest Julia. Senior Inspector Ravindra Ranshevare directed Inspector Fareed Khan to form a team and conduct a raid.

The officials then posed as fake customers. The officials then contacted the agent and expressed interest in the adoption of a baby. After learning about the customer's interest, the agent then demanded INR 5 lakhs in exchange for a five-day-old baby. The cops then arrested 2 women associated with child trafficking. Police recovered the baby from their possession. The duo then admitted that four other women including a doctor were associated with them.

On September 6, a case under IPC Section 370 (Trafficking) and 34 (Common Intention) was registered against the two women.

DCP Hemrajsingh Rajput formed special teams to identify and apprehend all the people involved with this gang.

"After conducting an inquiry, we learned that the woman who was trying to sell the child was a laborer who had been told to make a deal for INR 5 lakh by a dishonest doctor situated in Govandi. The doctor was identified as Saira Bano Nabiullah Sheikh when we tracked down the maternity home and exposed her as a fraud, said the official, who shared the details and wanted to remain anonymous.

"Further investigation led us to the involvement of Julia Lawrence Fernandes," the representative continued.

Earlier in 2022, Crime Branch officials detained Julia Fernandes for child trafficking in the Sion Koliwada region of Mumbai. She abducted babies from Nursing Homes and sold them.

The six accused arrested successfully by the police for child trafficking are Goribi Usman Sheikh, Shabana Zakir Sheikh, Gulabsha Mateen Sheikh, Reena Chavhan, in addition to the fraudulent doctor Saira Bano Nabiullah Sheikh, and Julia Fernandes.

The Mumbai Police have started the process of invoking stringent sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against six women.