Hyderabad, March 10: Police on Wednesday arrested four members of a six-member inter-state kidnapper gang and freed nine children abducted from the Old City over the past four years. The gang had sold the kids to childless couples in Karimnagar and Nizamabad districts for anything between Rs.50,000 and one lakh. Biological parents of four of the rescued boys have been traced.
Investigation into the case of Mohd Shareef, a four-and-a-half-year old, who had gone missing from near his residence at MB Huts, Santoshnagar led the South Zone police to the dreaded gang. Producing the four arrested — Mahboob Khan of Karimnagar district, his wife Reshma Sultana, Kamala alias Parveen also of Karimnagar and D Mallaiah Yadav of Nizamabad — and the nine children before the media, City Police Commissioner AK Khan said more children might have been kidnapped by the accused.
According to the police, Mahboob Khan and his wife, both residents of Madannapet in the Old City, were the kingpins of the racket. They would first identify childless couples and strike a deal with them after which Reshma, Kamala and two others, Sajeed and Shafi, both still absconding, would scour the Old City in search of kids.
“The women would lure boys by offering them chocolates while Sajeed and Shafi kept a vigil. Once the kids fell in their trap, they used to whisk them away in an auto to Rudrangi village in Vemulavada,” Khan explained. The gangsters would then keep the children in their own custody for some days to let them get “used to them.”
“Later, they would sell the kids to Mallaiah Yadav for `35,000-`60,000 each. Mallaiah Yadav, in turn, sold them to his customers for `50,000- ` one lakh in Nizamabad and Karimnagar areas,” Khan said. The cops are in the process of identifying the biological parents of five other kids. DNA fingerprinting or blood sampling and other scientific evidence is being examined for the purpose. For the time being, the kids would be sent to children’s homes run by the women and child welfare department. The boys whose parents are yet to be traced are M Manoj (12), Mahesh (9), N Ravi (5), K Srinivas (4) and Suresh (6).
“These are new names given to them by their adopted parents. Those who have lost their children in the above age group can contact the joint commissioner of police (CAR Headquarters) or assistant commissioner of police, Santoshnagar, Md Ismaial, for identifying their children along with the FIR copies of the complaint lodged when the child went missing,’’ Khan said.
-Agencies