Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe has exposed a disturbing ‘pipeline of exploitation’ within an illegal surrogacy and baby-selling racket, in which women who initially sought quick money through clinical trials, egg donation and surrogacy were, over time, recruited into a criminal hierarchy. The provisional attachment order of ED, dated March 9, in the case linked to Dr Pachipala Namratha, shows that several lead agents first entered the system as trial participants, egg donors or surrogate mothers, and were later used to identify, persuade and channel other women in financial distress into selling newborns.From clinical trial participant to recruiterThe provisional attachment order names one of the accused, Muthipeta Nandhini from Hyderabad, as one of the clearest examples of this transition. Nandhini first participated in clinical trials at laboratories in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, for which she was paid 15,000 to 20,000 per trial. She later acted as a surrogate mother twice, earning 7.5 lakh, and also sold her eggs on two occasions.The attachment order also states that her role changed from participant to agent when she began using her contacts among fellow trial participants to identify women in financial distress. Along with her husband, Muthipeta Sanjay, she identified Nasreen Begum, a fellow clinical trial participant who was eight months pregnant and in debt. She persuaded her to sell her baby to Dr Namratha’s clinic instead of seeking an abortion.The ED also named Mohammed Ali Adik and Nasreen Begum as the biological parents in one case, and said they were drawn into the network through Sanjay, who was Ali Adik’s former colleague and a fellow clinical trial participant.Egg donors move up the chainThe attachment order shows that the network also relied on egg donors who gradually became recruiters and handlers. Dhanasri Santoshi from Hyderabad, the ED order says, began as an egg donor in 2012 and donated about 12 times at various fertility centres. Over time, she developed what the ED describes as a ‘strong network’. She became a lead agent, charging a commission of 5,000 per donor while managing a layered network of sub-agents to procure pregnant women from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.Another accused, Shahina, a Rajasthani woman living near Aramghar in the city, was working as a sub-agent for Santoshi. Her role, as recorded in the order, included identifying and sourcing pregnant women for commissions of about 50,000.Harsha Roy is described in the ED order as a key sub-agent. The order states that she met Nandhini through donor circles and later played a role in directing Nandhini and Nasreen Begum to Dr Namratha’s clinic for the illegal sale of a newborn.The investigation identified Pasupuleti Lavanya as an ‘egg donor-cum-agent’. She is said to have worked as a donor and later sourced two pregnant women.Surrogates, relatives & labour networksThe ED attachment order states that surrogate mothers and their relatives were also drawn into the chain. One Kona Meenakshi initially acted as a surrogate mother in August 2024 and was paid about 3 lakh. After that, she and her mother, Koduru Ratnam from Visakhapatnam, acted as agents by allowing their bank accounts to be used to route about 9 lakh in payments linked to other pregnant women.In another instance, the investigation cited Kalyani, who was first induced to donate eggs five to six years ago for 20,000, and later became a facilitator. She assisted Koviri Devi Durga in selling a baby to the clinic for 3.5 lakh and also handled the distribution of the money, the order says.The investigation found a pattern in which women who entered the fertility and trial ecosystem in search of money were not kept at its margins but were absorbed into it as intermediaries. The probe revealed commissions ranging from 5,000 to 50,000, the recruitment of women in debt or distress, and peer-to-peer expansion through relatives, former co-workers, donor circles and informal community contacts.MSID:: 129655969 413 |
