Badlapur egg trafficking case: 4 doctors served notices, more under investigation

Badlapur: In a major crackdown on an alleged illegal human egg extraction and sale network, Badlapur police have issued notices to four doctors running IVF centres, while widening the investigation to include over 30 medical practitioners across multiple cities in the state. 

According to officials, the doctors served notices are based in Mumbai, Thane, and Baramati. The action follows revelations that several women were repeatedly used as egg donors across different IVF clinics in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Baramati, raising serious concerns over exploitation and violations of medical ethics and regulatory norms.

Also Read:IVF Pregnancies Linked to Higher Maternal and Neonatal Risks: Study

Preliminary findings suggest that financial transactions involving victims and at least 30 doctors are under scrutiny. Investigators have also identified 30–35 donors linked to individual agents, pointing to the existence of a large and coordinated network operating across regions.

Police suspect that certain medical professionals, including some based in south Mumbai, may have been part of a chain through which extracted eggs were supplied for commercial use.

Sources said the alleged racket was run by three women who were themselves former egg donors nearly a decade ago. They are believed to have identified a profit opportunity in the system and set up an informal network with an initial investment of around Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

The women reportedly recruited donors, coordinated with IVF centres, and earned commissions per case. They are also accused of targeting financially vulnerable women, offering Rs 25,000–Rs 30,000 per egg donation cycle.

Investigators have also found that fake Aadhaar cards and forged documents were allegedly used to create false donor identities in order to bypass regulatory requirements under the ART Act. Phone records and documents reviewed by police reportedly revealed contacts with nearly 30 IVF centres, with more than 10 clinics in Pune now under scrutiny.

As per the news reports, so far, seven persons have been arrested, including the director of a private IVF Centre in Nashik, and three women agents. Investigators allege that the women were reportedly given hormonal injections to stimulate egg production and were repeatedly used as donors, violating medical guidelines that permit a donor to donate only once.

Police said the injections were often administered at the homes of any of three agents without proper medical supervision or prescriptions. The women were later taken to IVF centres where eggs were extracted and allegedly sold, reports TOI.

Some doctors under investigation claimed they were approached by women presenting themselves as authorised donor coordinators with valid-looking licences and registration documents. However, officials suspect these documents were forged.

Officials are now examining financial transactions, communication records, and clinic-level documentation to establish the extent of involvement of medical professionals and IVF centres.

Last month, the health department of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation raided the All Hospital in Ulhasnagar, where illegal sonography procedures linked to the racket were reportedly being carried out. The facility was later sealed after officials found irregularities, including missing patient records and procedures allegedly conducted by unqualified personnel.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that, in a latest development, a doctor who is also the director of an IVF centre in Nashik was arrested in connection with the alleged illegal extraction and sale of human eggs from economically vulnerable women in Maharashtra.

Police believe the director of the IVF Centre in Nashik played a key role in coordinating the illegal activities. Officials said that further action will be taken against all doctors found directly involved as the investigation continues to uncover the scale and structure of the racket. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, DCP Sachin Gore, who is monitoring the probe by a team of Senior PI Nitin Patil, PI Rajesh Gajal, PSI Keshav Gajgule, and WAPI Supriya Deshmukh, said a charge sheet will be filed within 10 days. “We have issued notices to the doctors whom we suspect,” he said.

Also Read:Illegal Human Egg Extraction Racket: Nashik IVF centre Director arrested