Hyderabad: The Chandanagar Police have arrested a five-member gang allegedly involved in a child kidnapping and trafficking racket that has been operational across Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Sangareddy districts for the past five years. The operation led to the rescue of six children, including infants.

The investigation was launched after a woman filed a complaint stating that her four-year-old son, Akhil, went missing from their hut near Pochamma Temple in Lingampally on August 26, 2025, while she was away at a hospital. A case was registered at Chandanagar police station of Cyberabad commissionerate, and special teams were formed to investigate the disappearance.

Modus Operandi

During the probe, the prime accused, Chilukuri Raju, was apprehended. When questioned, he revealed a well-organised network. The gang specifically targeted children up to five years of age in and around railway stations and isolated areas. After observing them for a few days, they would kidnap the children and sell them to childless parents through their associates.

The arrested accused have been identified as Chilukuri Raju, an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, Mohd Asif, a vegetable vendor, Rizwana, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) from Siddipet, Narsimha Reddy, a mason, and Balaraju.

Chilukuri Raju is an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner from Patancheruvu, Sangareddy District. He is the alleged mastermind who started his criminal activities four years ago by kidnapping a baby girl from Kachiguda railway station and selling her for Rs 42,000. Rizwana, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) from Siddipet, ran a nursing clinic. She allegedly placed orders for babies with Asif, a vegetable vendor from Patancheruvu who partnered with Raju to find potential buyers and facilitate the sales.

Shocking Revelations and Rescues

The police investigation uncovered that one parent from Patancheruvu had even sold his own two newborns, aged just one and three days, to the gang for further sale to needy parents. The six rescued children are Akhil (5 years), Arun (2 years), Ammulu (8 months), Lasya (5 years), Adivik (2 years), and Priya (1 year). The children have been handed over to the District Child Protection Officer for safe custody and further legal processes. An amount of Rs 5,00,000 was also recovered from the accused.

Further investigation is ongoing to identify the parents of the two unidentified children and to uncover the full extent of the gang's operations over the last five years.