Maharashtra State initiates probe into child trafficking racket

Mumbai: The state women and child department has initiated a probe into the child trafficking racket where the Kolhapur police last week arrested homeopath Dr Arun Patil and his wife for allegedly selling infants to childless couples. According to the department’s district women and child officer (DWCO), it is investigating how Dr Patil was able to run a hospital without any authorisation for the past 25 years. The department will probe into how the homeopath was able to fabricate adoption papers to run the hospital’s illegal operations.

The homeopath was arrested after the DWCO received a tip-off from a couple and the Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA), along with the police, busted the racket last Tuesday. Investigations by the women and child department and the police have revealed the existence of a joint bank account in the name of the mother of the child and Dr Patil. The account still has Rs 2 lakh paid for the child to the mother.

DWCO Nitin Mhaske told The Asian Age, “First of all, he is a doctor of homeopathy and performed the deliveries himself with the assistance of gynaecologists. The gynaecologist who is under the scanner also assisted the accused during the pregnancies of all those minor girls, widows and poor women. We are investigating the matter further. He is a doctor of homoeopathy and his wife also works in the same hospital. We are verifying whether a person with his qualification is allowed to perform a delivery and we are scrutinising all the forged documents that were used for alleged adoptions.”