Newborn Trafficking Racket Busted in Eluru, Fake Birth Certificates Used

Police in Eluru district have busted a network involved in the illegal sale of newborn babies, treating infants as commodities for profit. The organised trafficking operation came to light during the verification of birth registration records, triggering widespread concern.

Authorities uncovered that the racket created fake birth certificates using forged documents and even managed to obtain Aadhaar cards for the infants. The illegal activities surfaced when officials noticed suspicious entries while verifying birth and death registration records.

Some entries related to babies reportedly born in a private hospital in Eluru lacked proper supporting documents. Acting on these discrepancies, District Child Protection Officer Surya Chakraveni initiated an inquiry, which ultimately exposed the trafficking network.

Deals Worth Lakhs, Fabricated Documents

According to details provided by Eluru SDPO D. Shravan Kumar , investigators have so far uncovered two major incidents of illegal infant sale .

In the first case, a couple from Mudinepalli mandal , who had been unable to conceive despite undergoing multiple IVF treatments , turned to middlemen. On December 1, 2024 , they allegedly paid about ₹3 lakh to purchase a baby girl .

To make it appear that the child was biologically theirs, the couple allegedly pretended that the woman was pregnant . Later, they fabricated a story claiming that the baby’s documents had been lost during a train journey to mislead authorities. With the help of intermediaries, they obtained a birth certificate from a panchayat office and subsequently secured an Aadhaar card for the child.

Nurse’s Role Suspected

In another incident, a male infant born on September 29, 2024, at a private hospital in Eluru was allegedly sold for just ₹30,000 . Police suspect that a nurse working at the hospital played a key role in facilitating the transaction.

So far, six people, including the couple involved , have been identified as accused and cases have been registered against them. The main accused woman , who reportedly has prior involvement in multiple child trafficking cases across several districts, has been arrested and shifted to Rajamahendravaram Central Jail.

Police suspect that the network may have carried out more such illegal transactions beyond the two cases identified so far .

Cases have been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Juvenile Justice Act . Special teams are continuing an in-depth investigation into the role of private hospitals, the intermediary network, and the issuance of documents in panchayat offices.