Visakhapatnam: Two more held in child trafficking case

Visakhapatnam: In connection with the child trafficking racket busted recently by the city police, another case came to the fore belonging to the team of Universal Srushti hospital and Padmaja hospital. Elaborating on it further at a press conference held here on Thursday, Police Commissioner R K Meena said based on a complaint made by C Venkata Laxmi from Bheemavaram, Visakhapatnam district, another child trafficking case belonging to the team of Universal Srushti hospital and Padmaja hospital came to light.

Promising the complainant that free delivery would be facilitated, Venkata Laxmi was admitted to Universal Srushti hospital and later shifted to Padmaja hospital, citing seriousness of the case. "However, after the delivery, Venkata Laxmi was told by the hospital staff that she gave birth to a dead baby. But, actually the baby was sold for Rs 13 lakh to another couple in Vizianagaram," the CP said. The accused – Namrata, Tirumala and Ch Padmaja managed to get the birth certificate from GVMC and handed over to the Vizianagaram-based couple.

When Venkata Laxmi came to know about Universal Srushti hospital's involvement in child trafficking, she filed a complaint about the possible chances of her child being sold to others.

The CP said six persons were involved in the case – Tirumala, A Rama Krishna, N Nooka Ratnam, Namrata, Padmaja and K Venkata Lakshmi. On Thursday, two of the accused – Padmaja and Nooka Ratnam were taken into custody. The rest of them were already in judicial custody, he added. The conference was attended by DCP (Zone-I) Aishwarya Rastogi and others.