LUCKNOW, July 17 -- A mismatched WhatsApp photo allegedly derailed a Rs.2.5 lakh child trafficking deal in Lucknow, after the buyer rejected the 18-month-old girl kidnapped from outside a medical facility in the Chowk area for being the wrong age and wrong gender. The accused allegedly abandoned the toddler, who was later rescued and reunited with her parents, police said on Thursday, adding that the case is now being probed as part of a wider human trafficking network rather than a standalone kidnapping. Police said the alleged buyer, identified as Sher Singh, a resident of Hardoi and relative of absconding local mastermind Shyam Ji Yadav, had sought a newborn boy. The gang allegedly kidnapped an 18-month-old girl in the early hours of July 13 instead and sent her photographs to him over WhatsApp. Singh allegedly refused to accept the child because she was older than he wanted and was a girl, police said. During interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly told police they had picked up the wrong child because they could not identify her properly in the dark. As police teams launched a citywide search following the kidnapping, the deal collapsed and the accused allegedly abandoned the toddler in Alambagh, where she was later rescued and reunited with her parents. Police had on Wednesday arrested five alleged gang members, Rishabh Kashyap, Rohit Pasi alias Jadoo, Mohammad Sultan, Mohammad Irshad Shah and alleged mastermind Shyam Ji Yadav, a trained general nursing and midwifery (GNM) worker. Investigators said the gang ran an organised child procurement network and charged around Rs.2.5 lakh per child supplied to buyers. DCP (West) kamlesh dixit said two teams have been formed to trace Sher Singh and another absconding accused, Mahesh, who allegedly took part in the kidnapping. "We are also widening the investigation to determine whether the gang was involved in a larger interstate child trafficking network. Investigators are examining the arrested accused's mobile phones, WhatsApp chats, call detail records and financial transactions to identify previous deals, trace prospective buyers and ascertain whether more children were targeted or trafficked in UP or other states." Investigators said Sher Singh allegedly contacted the accused after expressing a desire to procure a child, following which the conspiracy to kidnap one was allegedly hatched. The toddler was allegedly kidnapped from the porch of a medical facility in Chowk around 2:30 am on July 13 while sleeping beside her parents. Police scanned footage from around 150 CCTV cameras after her disappearance, an effort investigators believe forced the accused to abandon the child before completing the alleged deal....