A 43-year-old woman from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, has been arrested by Wadala TT police for allegedly “purchasing” two children from a Mumbai-based child trafficking network, whom she physically abused. A dentist by profession, she allegedly sought to raise children without undergoing any legal adoption procedures.

The case first came to light in August last year when a senior citizen approached the police, reporting that his son-in-law and grandson were missing. During the investigation, the son-in-law, Anil Ganesh Purvaiya, was found to be the prime accused—he had allegedly sold his two-year-old son for Rs 1.8 lakh. Purvaiya was arrested, along with two Chembur-based women, Asha Pawar and Asma Shaikh, to whom he had sold the child.