Hyderabad: 11 individuals involved in an interstate child trafficking racket were apprehended by the Special Operations Team (SOT) Malkajgiri, along with Chaitanyapuri police on Tuesday, February 25. During the operation, the police were able to rescue all infants involved in the trafficking.

The main accused in the case, Kola Krishnaveni, 26, is a resident of Quthbullapur of Medchal-Malkajgiri district, and a graduate in BSc Biochemistry. She worked closely with two associates, Battu Deepthi, 35, a resident of Kothapet and Sampath Kumar, 40, a resident of Secunderabad.

Krishnaveni came across a woman named Vandana, a resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat who agreed to sell infant girls for Rs 1.5 lakh and infant boys for Rs 2.5 lakh. According to the deal, Vandana sent over two boys and two girls with two women, Sunitha Suman and Savitri Devi, over one month. While five people, namely Sharada, Umarani, Jayasree, Sravan, and Soni Keerthi, acted as mediators, connecting traffickers to the clients.

The first infant, a girl was sold on January 28, the second girl on February 4, a boy on February 12 and finally the last boy on February 25. The last transaction, however, was intercepted by police at Chaitanyapuri bus stop at 6:00 am, leading to the arrests.

The previous three infants had been sold to different people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for an amount of Rs 2-3 lakh per girl and Rs 4-5 lakh per boy. During the investigation, the accused confessed to the crime, revealing Deepthi’s presence with the other three infants.

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During the investigation, the accused confessed that they were yet to receive the full payment for the children and had called the buyers under the pretext of providing birth and adoption certificates.

The individuals involved in the trafficking have been identified as Kola Krishnaveni, Battu Deepthi, and Budidhi Sampath Kumar, who have been arrested along with Goutham Savithri Devi, 27, from Ahmedabad; Battu Sravan Kumar, 38, from Ranga Reddy; and Amgoth Sharada, 38, from Falaknuma, Hyderabad. The remaining accused mentioned in the case are currently absconding.

Krishnaveni is a repeat offender and was previously arrested in 2024. She joined Abbott Pvt Ltd. as a medical representative in 2019 and was approached by an individual seeking to adopt a child due to her connections in the medical industry.

She began searching for infants through social media and, in 2024, came across a man named Manoj Kumar from Delhi. They struck a deal to procure a baby boy for Rs 5 lakh. However, when Manoj came to Hyderabad to deliver the child, they were caught by the Gopalapuram police and booked under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police have also arrested five individuals who had purchased infants. Ogati Naga Venkata Pavan Bhagavan and his wife, Oguti Rama Sravani, from Sakhamuri Shivaiah Street, Currency Nagar, Vijayawada, had bought the first girl. Teppala Vinay Kumar and his wife, Teppala Swathi, from Saidabad Colony, had purchased the second girl. Lingala Ramesh from Santosh Nagar Colony, Keesamudram, Mahabubabad district, had bought one of the boys.

The accused have been booked under Section 143 (4)(5) read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 80, 81, 87, and 88 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police have urged citizens looking to adopt a child to follow legal procedures instead of approaching agents or mediators.

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