Kolkata-Based Woman Dentist Arrested in Child Trafficking Case; Two Children Rescued

In a significant breakthrough, Mumbai Police have arrested a woman dentist from Kolkata in connection with a child trafficking case involving two minor children. The arrest was made by a team from the Wadala Truck Terminus police station following an extensive investigation.

The accused, identified as Reshma Santosh Kumar Banerjee, was apprehended last week. During the operation, police successfully rescued a two-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, according to an official statement released on Saturday.

The investigation began in May 2024 after a contractor approached the Wadala police with a complaint regarding the alleged abduction of his son-in-law and toddler grandson. During the probe, it was revealed that the complainant’s son-in-law had sold his own child for ₹1.6 lakh to three individuals — Asma Shaikh, Sharif Shaikh, and Asha Pawar.

The police arrested all four — the father and the three intermediaries — who then disclosed that the child had been sold to a woman at Bhubaneswar railway station in Odisha.

Acting on this lead, the police traced the woman to a dental hospital in Bhubaneswar. Further inquiries led the police to her residence in Kolkata, where she was taken into custody. The operation also resulted in the rescue of the complainant’s grandson, along with another unidentified three-year-old girl.

The accused was brought to Mumbai and formally arrested on April 13.

Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the identity of the second rescued child and to uncover any larger trafficking network linked to the case.