A childless couple from Eluru district, married for 10 years, moved to a village in neighboring Krishna district in 2025. Ten months later, the woman, Sushila (name changed), returned to her native village and claimed to have given birth to a child through IVF, a process in which pregnancy is established by implanting an embryo made from a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm into the uterus in a laboratory.
After facing social stigma and pressure within the family after trying several times and failing to give birth to a child, the couple approached a woman named Farheena in Krishna district, who is allegedly part of a child trafficking gang. The couple bought a child from Farheena and returned to their native village in Krishna district.
However, the couple landed in trouble as they were allegedly involved in child trafficking, with the police intensifying their investigation into child selling cases in the state.
Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta said that vigilance has been increased in the state against child trafficking and gangs selling children. The Hindu.
Smugglers from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Telangana and other states have been visiting Andhra Pradesh for the last few years and carrying out illegal activities freely.
Several gangs are operating from Andhra Pradesh and are believed to have sold around 25 children in the last few months. Police said traffickers allegedly sold children kidnapped from the state to different parts of the country and vice versa.
Wide network in game
In most of the cases, the accused women were found to have an extensive network of associates in neighboring states.
Krishna district superintendent of police V. Vidya Sagar Naidu, who is monitoring the investigation, said, “Balagam Sarojini alias Sarojini of Vijayawada, Farheena and Amudalapalli Satya Mani are involved in child trafficking. Sarojini along with her partner Farheena is allegedly involved in around ten cases of selling children in AP, Telangana and other states. Vijayawada native Satya Mani was earlier arrested by Nunna of NTR district. Police, Suryapet police of Telangana and Krishna district police also made arrests.” In a case of kidnapping, said.
According to the police, women aged between 20 and 30 allegedly posing as mothers bring the babies from different places to Andhra Pradesh and keep them in care centers run by traffickers and eventually sell the babies to childless couples for huge sums of money.
The traffickers reportedly have links to child kidnapping gangs in other states. They employ Hindi-speaking female transporters, security men and middlemen. Additionally, caretakers were also assigned to the centers to look after the infants until they were sold.
“The child selling gang has developed a network in government and private hospitals and fertility centres. The accused paid money to nurses, laboratory staff and class IV staff who agreed to share details of couples undergoing long-term fertility treatment. Some rectangles And nurses alert traffickers when unmarried or abandoned women deliver babies in hospitals,” police said.
“The selling price of babies ranged between ₹2 to ₹10 lakh. However, the price varied depending on the demand from childless couples,” Naidu said.
Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta said that vigilance has been increased against such gangs in the state. The Hindu.
Six babies were kidnapped and sold
In a recent case in Krishna district, an eight-member child trafficking gang allegedly sold six children to childless couples in different parts of Andhra Pradesh, and the district police busted the racket and rescued three children.
The case came to light when a gang of five members kidnapped the 10-month-old baby of Summamma, a female beggar in Vijayawada, and sold the child to a couple in Machilipatnam on April 17 earlier this year.
Penamaluru police in Krishna district arrested nine accused and recovered three children. Police seized ₹90,500 and ₹80,500 in two phases. Investigating officials said a search has been launched to trace the remaining infants.
Krishna district SP said, “The modus operandi of the gang was to acquire children from poor women and sell them to childless couples. Out of the six children, the accused bought four and kidnapped the other two. We are trying to trace the remaining missing infants and their mothers.” The Hindu.
Those arrested include Gunjala Venkata Naga Srinivasa Rao, Sheikh Rehana, Komiri Kali, Gandikota Guramma, Ganta Mary, Pedimaarthi Kanakamma, Gandikota Yesubabu, Amarpu Saradha and Satya Mani, all natives of Krishna and NTR districts.
“The gang has confessed to selling six children. In two cases, the gang kidnapped the infants and the remaining four children were bought from the mothers and sold by the accused,” Naidu said.
He said agents convinced childless couples to buy babies and the price varied depending on the couple’s desire to have children. The accused paid agents and nurses between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000. The SP said the rescued infants have been handed over to WD&CW department officials for care and protection.
Beggars were targeted
Penamaluru police, who are investigating the case, said, “The reason why some mothers sold their children was poverty, while others sold their children because they had given birth to multiple children. The accused targeted women begging in temples and public places and offered them small amounts of money for each child. The gang chose beggars to avoid complaints.”
In a similar incident, a missing child case led the police to a child trafficking racket following which three minors, including two girls, were rescued in January earlier this year. The accused had allegedly sold three children, aged around 10 years, to duck farmers in Nandyal district.
Robertsonpet police said the accused – T. Prasad, Kandula Edukondalu and his wife K. Lakshmi – a native of Annavaram village in Nandyal district, who later settled in Machilipatnam, allegedly abducted two girls and a boy belonging to the Yerukala Scheduled Tribe community, adding that the children were allegedly used as laborers by duck farmers.
Meanwhile, Mudinappally police in Eluru district busted a gang and rescued five infants. The police arrested the alleged kingpin Sarojini and her associate Farheena.
SP K. Pratap Shiv Kishore said, “Based on the complaint lodged by District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Choudhary Surya Chakraveni, the police registered a case and rescued the children from Bhimavaram, Razole, Visakhapatnam and other places in the state. More accused are likely to be arrested.”
Kaikalur rural circle inspector V. Ravi Kumar said accused Sarojini is also facing charges in egg donation and surrogacy racket in Andhra Pradesh and other states.
“Sarojini has encouraged poor women to donate eggs and have children through surrogacy,” police said.
Surya Chakraveni said the gang contacted a nurse from a private hospital who had allegedly sold children to traffickers. Children rescued in Mudinepalli case were safe in government hospital crècheDCPO said.
A woman who worked as a mediator in one case said, “We did not know the seriousness of child selling cases and we only helped a couple get a child. Suddenly, the police called us and now we are facing investigation.”
Many couples, who are unaware of the legal process of adoption or are unwilling to wait for a long period to get the child through the WD&CW department, are being lured by traffickers with assurances of getting the child.
“Childless couples, after visiting maternity hospitals and IVF centres, are getting in touch with people who in most cases turn out to be child traffickers,” said a police officer.
‘Simple adoption process is the need of the hour’
Eluru Deputy Superintendent of Police D. Shravan Kumar said the process of adoption should be simplified through the State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA) to prevent child trafficking and sale.
NTR Police Commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu said the Nunna police had earlier busted a child trafficking gang and rescued six children. Police arrested Farheena, SK. Saidabi, Kovwarapu Karuna Sri and Pedala Sirisha, natives of Ajit Singh Nagar, Vijayawada, in March last year.
Sarojini had reportedly purchased seven babies from Preeti Kiran of New Delhi and Anil of Ahmedabad. She shifted the children to Vijayawada with the help of Farheena and Saidabi and placed them in a self-run child care center in Prakash Nagar, Vijayawada.
“Pedala Sirisha and Kovvarapu Karuna used to take care of babies at Sri Child Care Centre, while other members of the gang collected details of childless couples from fertility centres,” the police commissioner said.
The main accused Sarojini allegedly sold more than 20 children. He was earlier arrested in similar cases in Mumbai and Medipally in Hyderabad and was later released on bail. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) KGV Sarita said police recovered ₹4 lakh in cash from the gang in Vijayawada.
