Thane: Police on Wednesday arrested Dr Amol Patil, director of Malti IVF Centre in Nashik, in connection with the illegal extraction and sale of human eggs from economically vulnerable women in Badlapur even as Maharashtra legislative council ordered a multi-pronged crackdown with a district-level committee, comprising the superintendent of police and civil surgeon, set to inspect IVF centres across the state.Dr Patil was produced before Kalyan sessions court and remanded to five days of police custody. He has been accused of allegedly acting as a surrogate mother agent. DCP Sachin Gore said, “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the three main arrested accused — all women — were in direct contact with Dr Patil’s IVF centre.” Police suspect that he could be part of a larger inter-state or even international trafficking network with links to multiple cities.In the legislative council, minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam termed the racket “extremely serious” and promised stringent action, while deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe directed that the registrations of the accused doctors be cancelled. The issue was raised by BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, who alleged that poor women were lured with money and subjected to repeated hormonal injections and illegal egg extraction under the guise of IVF and surrogacy. She claimed some women donated eggs eight to 10 times, far beyond the legal one-time limit, and were sent back without medical follow-up care. Wagh also alleged an interstate network involving centres in Telangana and Karnataka.Investigations revealed that the racket was allegedly operated through a doctor linked to a registered IVF centre in Nashik, but functioning out of Thane. Around 10 women have been identified so far, though Wagh claimed over 20 may be involved. The accused doctor has been arrested under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, and five persons — all women — have been taken into custody.Kadam informed the House that fake Aadhaar cards were used to repeatedly register the same woman under different identities. Aadhaar authentication will now be made mandatory, and all IVF centres will be linked to a centralised system. The state has around 860 IVF centres.Joint inspections by the home and health departments will be carried out through the SP–civil surgeon panel. Action has also been initiated against unauthorised sonography centres, and the government may invoke stringent provisions such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) if required.Gorhe directed that the Indian Medical Council be formally informed to begin proceedings to cancel the registrations of the accused doctors, stressing that strict oversight is essential to prevent the commercial exploitation of vulnerable women. Kadam assured the House that appropriate action would follow.Police said the racket was being operated by three women from a residential premises in Badlapur and Ulhasnagar. The prime accused, Sulakshana Gadekar, had allegedly stocked injections used to stimulate the production of ova at her house. The trio allegedly lured women with monetary incentives and illegally administered them ovum-stimulating injections at their homes. Once the ova developed, the women were allegedly sent to Malti IVF Centre, which has branches in Nashik and Thane, where doctors would extract the eggs through medical procedures and sell them unlawfully, police said.Sources added that Malti IVF Centre was licensed to operate only in Nashik, but was allegedly functioning in Thane without authorisation. Following his arrest, Nashik Municipal Corporation has issued a notice to Dr Patil, and documents related to the centre are being scrutinised.
