Child trafficking case: BJP man among 2 held for ‘active role’, 3 babies rescued

Kolkata: The CID has arrested two more doctors, allegedly involved in the child trafficking racket unearthed by the agency in in North 24 Parganas Baduria 10 days ago. The agency officials also rescued three babies from a bush at Falta in South 24 Parganas district.

One of the two arrested, Dilip Ghosh, who earlier used to work at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, is a BJP leader who had contested the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation election for the party but had lost. Ghosh was attached with Shree Krishna Nursing Home at College Street .

Nityananda Biswas, also a medical practitioner and associated with Mohananda Seva Sadan at Roy Bahadur Road in Behala, was arrested along with Ghosh late Tuesday night, officials said, adding both had played “crucial roles” in the child trafficking racket and had been involved with it for a long time.

Shortly after the arrests were made public, the state BJP suspended Ghosh. Confirming this, party’s state president Dilip Ghosh, told reporters, “We have suspended him from all posts till he comes out clean in the probe. What he has done in his professional life is not the concern of the BJP,” he said.

So far, the CID has arrested a total 20 people, four of whom are doctors, since busting the racket earlier this month.

Meanwhile, three babies were rescued from a bush near a canal at Falta in South 24-Parganas district. “We are looking into whether these babies were part of a trafficking racket and also trying to ascertain the identity of these babies,” a senior police officer said. The three babies - two girls and a boy - have been admitted to a government hospital at Diamond Harbour, the officer added.

The state government, which had Tuesday asked officials to step up surveillance in every state-run home,has directed the child welfare department to visit the NGOs, government hospitals and private nursing homes and submit a weekly report on their functioning.