Ten Babies Rescued From Old Age Home For Mentally Challenged  

Kolkata: Ten babies were rescued by the CID from an old age home for mentally challenged persons in the southern part of the city in the early hours on Friday as part of the probe in the international child trafficking racket.

The CID also arrested another woman in this connection. With this, the total number of arrests has risen to 15, including seven women. The ten babies, all girl children ranging from one to 10 months old, were rescued during a raid from the third floor of ‘Purbasha’, the old age home for the mentally challenged at Kolagachhiya in Thakurpukur Police station limits.

These babies were recently shifted by one of the accused in this case who is at large, the CID official said. Reena Banerjee, the daughter of a co-accused Putul Banerjee held earlier in this connection, was arrested while two women were detained during the early morning raid at the old age home, the CID official said.

On Thursday, Marefa Bibi, wife of Anish Mondal of Raghavpur in Machlandapur under Habra police station and the owner of Sri Krishna nursing home on College Street Partha Chatterjee, were arrested in connection for their alleged role in the racket.

Dr Santosh Kumar Samanta (60), associated with the College Street nursing home, was arrested on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the racket. Paromita Chatterjee of the same nursing home and Prabha Pramanik and Putul Banerjee of South View Nursing Home in Behala were also arrested.

Eight persons were arrested on November 21 following a CID raid at a private nursing home in Baduria after receiving inputs from a source. They were identified as Najma Bibi, Utpala Byapari, Amirul Biswas (a quack), owner of a local nursing home Asadur Jaman, NGO activist Satyajit Sinha, clinic owner Bakbul Baidya, lawyer Prabhat Sarkar and his associate Jhantu Biswas.

The racket used to smuggle newborns to other states and abroad in cardboard boxes meant for biscuit packaging.

PTI