A Delhi court has recently dismissed the second bail application of a woman accused in a child trafficking case. The accused sought bail on the grounds of parity with another woman who had been granted bail, but the court rejected her plea.
This case pertains to the alleged trafficking and sale of five infants by a group of accused individuals.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed on April 5, 2024, by Deputy SP CBI J. Chandru, who alleged illegal trafficking activities involving the buying and selling of infants in Delhi and other states. The complaint implicated several individuals, including Neeraj, Indu Pawar, and Pooja Kashyap, along with other suspects.
Special CBI Judge Gagandeep Singh denied the second bail application for Pooja Kashyap, emphasizing her role in the case.
The court stated, “The applicant’s involvement in the trafficking of Infant No.1 has been outlined in detail in the chargesheet. She was identified by the biological parents, Sima Kumari and Akash, as one of the individuals posing as an adoptive parent. Thus, the accused cannot claim parity with co-accused Kavita,” the judge noted.
The court ruled, “Given the facts and circumstances, there is no merit in the application to grant regular bail to the accused. Accordingly, the second application under Section 439 Cr.P.C for regular bail on behalf of Pooja Kashyap is dismissed,” stated the order passed on November 4.
Additionally, the court noted that the prosecution had submitted call detail records (CDR) of Pooja Kashyap’s mobile number, stored in a DVD comprising 110 pages. These records reveal her location on April 4, 2024, during the alleged trafficking event, indicating that she remained in the vicinity of Kerala, Delhi, from 5:03 p.m. to approximately 9:33 p.m., raising doubts over her claim of merely being a caretaker.
The prosecution also presented intercepted call transcripts, which include a conversation involving the accused discussing infant trafficking.
According to the allegations, on April 5, 2024, the CBI apprehended accused Neeraj, Indu Pawar, and Aslam during an attempted sale of an infant at Tri Nagar, Delhi. During the operation, authorities seized Rs. 5.1 lakh and rescued the infant.
During subsequent CBI raids, another male infant was found in Pooja Kashyap’s residence in Tri Nagar, Kanhiya Nagar, Delhi. Additionally, a female infant was located with co-accused Kavita, at the direction of another accused, Anjali alias Golu.
Another infant was recovered from the possession of accused Hari Singh, who was also detained in connection with the case. All four rescued infants were presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and have since been placed in a Child Welfare Institution, as per CWC orders.
Further investigation revealed that Anjali and another suspect, Neeraj, sold a newborn boy to a couple in Patiala, Punjab, on March 7, 2024. Neeraj had allegedly forged notarized documents to falsely present the sale as a legitimate adoption.
For this adoption, the accused used false documentation listing Rahul Mehrolia and his wife Sushma as the biological parents of the child sold to the couple in Patiala. This infant has also been rescued and is currently housed in a Child Welfare Institution, per CWC directives.
(WITH ANI INPUTS)
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