Another doctor arrested in connection with Hyderabad baby-selling racket

Hyderabad: In a latest development in the ongoing investigation into an illegal surrogacy and baby-selling racket allegedly operating under the name of Universal Srushti Fertility Centre, a female paediatrician from King George Hospital (KGH), Visakhapatnam, was arrested by police at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) for her suspected involvement in the case.

The doctor had been on the police radar for some time and was apprehended at the airport following an extensive investigation. Her name surfaced during the probe, and she was named as an accused in one of the four fresh FIRs, after being alleged to have sold someone else's child to a couple who had approached the clinic for IVF treatment.

The arrest was made on Monday, August 4, after one of the complainants alleged that the doctor colluded with others at Srushti Fertility Clinic and defrauded them. She claimed that the doctor and an anaesthetist, Kalyani, lied to her about the baby girl being born through surrogacy using her and her husband's biological samples. Later, when they went for a DNA test, they realised that the claim was false.

Also read- Hyderabad baby-selling racket: Doctor accused of using another doctor's license to run clinic

Following her arrest, the police have taken her into custody, and she will be interrogated for her alleged role in the racket. "She had come to Hyderabad for some property transaction. We tracked her down and caught her at the RGI Airport while she was planning to return to Visakhapatnam," a police official told TOI.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Hyderabad police busted a large-scale illegal surrogacy and baby-selling racket run by Dr A. Namratha, owner of a chain of fertility clinics across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Eight people, including Namratha and the biological parents of a baby, were arrested.

The racket came to light after a couple who paid Rs 35 lakh for surrogacy found through a DNA test that the baby they received wasn’t biologically theirs. The main accused, Dr A. Namratha, along with associates and agents, targeted vulnerable women, particularly those seeking abortions, and lured them into continuing pregnancies in exchange for money and other reasons. These newborns were then passed off as children conceived through surrogacy, misleading clients into believing the babies were biologically theirs.

The scam unfolded after the couple met Dr Namratha, who, after conducting fertility-related tests, advised them to go for surrogacy. The couple was directed to another branch of the clinic at Vishakapatnam for the collection of specimens and were told that the surrogate would be arranged by the clinic, and the embryo would be transplanted to the surrogate.

Over the course of nine months, the couple made several payments to the clinic. In June this year, the complainant was informed that the surrogate had delivered a baby boy via C-section in Vishakapatnam. Overall, the clinic took over Rs 35 lakh from the couple as consultation charges for the procedures

The baby boy was handed over to the complainant along with documentation which showed the registration of the child as having been born to the couple themselves after creating a "false" birth certificate document. The baby was not shown as a child born to a surrogate, which drew their suspicion. Later, the couple went in for a DNA test, which revealed that the child’s DNA did not match theirs.

When the couple tried to get in touch with the clinic, they were refused any documentation and were threatened, which prompted them to approach the police.

Now, the police have arrested the ninth accused in the case - the woman doctor whose apprehension led the police to identify and capture more accused in connection with the case.

Speaking to The Hindu, a senior official from the North Zone said, “We had been tracking the accused’s movements for a while. She was arrested at the airport and will be questioned to establish her role in the racket."

Meanwhile, the police team conducted raids on the Gopalapuram and Visakhapatnam branches of the fertility centre and discovered that the clinic was operating without a valid license, which means the centre was running illegally in these two branches as well.

During the raid, the police discovered incriminating materials including medical equipment, surrogacy records, forged documents and digital devices. Further, the team found that the centres were conducting procedures involving embryo creation and implantation in violation of national medical and ethical guidelines.

Also read- Hyderabad Surrogacy racket busted: Doctor, 7 others arrested in baby-selling scam