The Gopalapuram police have transferred the Universal Srushti Fertility Centre child-trafficking and surrogacy case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CCS, Hyderabad, for further investigation.
So far, 25 people, including five doctors, have been arrested in connection with nine cases registered at the Gopalapuram police station. These arrests are linked to an alleged inter-state racket. The main accused, Dr Athaluri Namratha, along with seven others, was arrested on 27 July following an FIR registered on 25 July.
The case began after a Hyderabad couple complained that the fertility centre, run by Dr Namratha, had cheated them of over Rs 30 lakh in a surrogacy deal. They alleged that the centre gave them another couple’s child instead of their own.
After this complaint, seven more couples came forward, leading to seven more cases being registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act. Another case was filed by a 90-year-old gynaecologist, Suri Srimathi, who said her name had been illegally used on the centre’s letterhead to carry out illegal activities.
The victim couples alleged that they had first approached the centre for IVF treatment. As quoted by TOI, they said Dr Namratha convinced them to choose surrogacy instead, charging more than Rs 30 lakh for “guaranteed babies”. The couples were never told who the surrogate mothers were. In one case, a couple was told their surrogate child had died at birth, while DNA tests in two other cases did not match the babies given to the clients.
North Zone DCP Rashmi S Perumal said, as reported by TOI, that Dr Namratha ran a network of clinics in Secunderabad, Kondapur, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Bhubaneswar, and Kolkata. The alleged method was to attract couples through IVF, then persuade them to switch to surrogacy, promising to handle all legal work.
Agents reportedly convinced financially struggling women to sell their babies, paying Rs 3.5 lakh for a girl and Rs 4.5 lakh for a boy. Victims were charged Rs 30–40 lakh. The DCP added, as quoted by TOI, that the accused faked DNA and medical reports by using the biological mother’s DNA in place of the client’s.
The arrested include Dr Namratha; her son PSS Jayanth Krishna; doctors from Visakhapatnam and Gandhi Hospital; embryologists; branch managers; nurses; agents; and three parents who allegedly agreed to the illegal sale of their children.
Police have seized about 50 files from the centre’s offices and are checking them for more possible victims. Bank accounts linked to the accused have been frozen. According to police, Dr Namratha was previously involved in 15 criminal cases across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur. Some were settled, while others are still in court.
“We have invoked provisions of Organised Crime under the BNS against the accused. The SIT will now take over the investigation,” the DCP said, as reported by TOI.
Inputs from TOI
So far, 25 people, including five doctors, have been arrested in connection with nine cases registered at the Gopalapuram police station. These arrests are linked to an alleged inter-state racket. The main accused, Dr Athaluri Namratha, along with seven others, was arrested on 27 July following an FIR registered on 25 July.
The case began after a Hyderabad couple complained that the fertility centre, run by Dr Namratha, had cheated them of over Rs 30 lakh in a surrogacy deal. They alleged that the centre gave them another couple’s child instead of their own.
After this complaint, seven more couples came forward, leading to seven more cases being registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act. Another case was filed by a 90-year-old gynaecologist, Suri Srimathi, who said her name had been illegally used on the centre’s letterhead to carry out illegal activities.
The victim couples alleged that they had first approached the centre for IVF treatment. As quoted by TOI, they said Dr Namratha convinced them to choose surrogacy instead, charging more than Rs 30 lakh for “guaranteed babies”. The couples were never told who the surrogate mothers were. In one case, a couple was told their surrogate child had died at birth, while DNA tests in two other cases did not match the babies given to the clients.
North Zone DCP Rashmi S Perumal said, as reported by TOI, that Dr Namratha ran a network of clinics in Secunderabad, Kondapur, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Bhubaneswar, and Kolkata. The alleged method was to attract couples through IVF, then persuade them to switch to surrogacy, promising to handle all legal work.
Agents reportedly convinced financially struggling women to sell their babies, paying Rs 3.5 lakh for a girl and Rs 4.5 lakh for a boy. Victims were charged Rs 30–40 lakh. The DCP added, as quoted by TOI, that the accused faked DNA and medical reports by using the biological mother’s DNA in place of the client’s.
The arrested include Dr Namratha; her son PSS Jayanth Krishna; doctors from Visakhapatnam and Gandhi Hospital; embryologists; branch managers; nurses; agents; and three parents who allegedly agreed to the illegal sale of their children.
Police have seized about 50 files from the centre’s offices and are checking them for more possible victims. Bank accounts linked to the accused have been frozen. According to police, Dr Namratha was previously involved in 15 criminal cases across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Guntur. Some were settled, while others are still in court.
“We have invoked provisions of Organised Crime under the BNS against the accused. The SIT will now take over the investigation,” the DCP said, as reported by TOI.
Inputs from TOI
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