Child trafficking: Darjeeling district Child Protection Officer arrested

Jalpaiguri: The Darjeeling District Child Protection Officer and a member of the district Child Welfare Committee have been arrested by the CID in connection with the Jalpaiguri child trafficking case.

Their arrest comes days after BJP women's wing leader Juhi Chowdhury, Chief Adoption Officer of an NGO Sonali Mondal, its Chairperson Chandana Chakraborty and Chandana's brother Manas Bhowmik were arrested by the CID team probing the case.

The CID and district police officials said the Darjeeling District Child Protection Officer Mrinal Ghosh and the district Child Welfare Committee member Debasish Chandra were initially detained and questioned at length at Pintail village in Siliguri on Friday.

The duo were then arrested for their alleged involvement in selling of babies and children in India and abroad in the last few months from the NGO 'Bimala Sishu Griho'.

Sonali, Chandana and Manas were charged with selling about 17 children, aged between 1 and 14 years, to foreigners by entering into shady adoption deals.

The CID had unearthed a child trafficking racket during raids at homes and nursing homes in Baduria area of North 24 Parganas district, in Behala in the southern fringes of Kolkata and some other parts of south Bengal in November 2016.