Hyderabad: A three-year-old girl kidnapped while sleeping beside her mother near Lingampally railway station was rescued within hours by Cyberabad police, whose swift operation also led to the busting of an alleged child trafficking network involved in arranging illegal adoptions.Three persons, including a nurse, were arrested before the child could allegedly be handed over to a prospective buyer in Mahbubnagar. Investigators said the probe has already uncovered two earlier cases of illegal adoption, and efforts are under way to identify others linked to the racket.Pushparani was sleeping with her mother, 23-year-old B Govindamma, a street vendor from Guntakal in Andhra Pradesh, outside a hotel near Lingampally station on Wednesday night. When Govindamma woke up around 4.30 am on Thursday, the child was missing. She immediately approached Chandanagar police, who registered a case.Special teams from Chandanagar police, Narsingi police and central crime station, Serilingampally, launched a coordinated search. Using CCTV footage, technical evidence and field inquiries across Cyberabad, Vikarabad and Mahbubnagar districts, police traced the accused and rescued the child before she could be handed over to the intended buyer.The arrested accused were identified as Kothi Srinivas (36) of Parigi in Vikarabad district, Doma Rama Krishna (23) of Bandlaguda, and Paladhi Navaneetha (31) of Mahbubnagar.Cyberabad commissioner of police M Ramesh said the prompt response by police not only ensured the safe rescue of the child but also exposed an organised network trafficking children under the guise of illegal adoptions. “The investigation is continuing to identify other members of the network, trace the money trail and establish the role of all those involved,” he said.According to police, Navaneetha, a staff nurse and laboratory technician at a private diagnostic centre in Mahbubnagar, had allegedly developed contacts with childless couples seeking children outside the legal adoption process. Investigators said she used information gathered through her work and relied on intermediaries to facilitate illegal adoption for money.Police said a woman had recently approached Navaneetha seeking a child through an illegal adoption. Navaneetha allegedly tasked Srinivas with procuring a child in exchange for payment. In the early hours of Thursday, Srinivas and Rama Krishna allegedly rode to Lingampally railway station on a motorcycle, spotted the mother and daughter sleeping on the pavement, abducted the child and drove to Mahbubnagar.The accused reportedly contacted Navaneetha after reaching the town, following which she directed them to bring the child near the govt area hospital, where the handover to the prospective buyer was to take place. Police intercepted them before the deal could be completed.Police said further arrests are likely.
