48 women rescued in IVF egg racket; Srushti case accused among 8 held | Hyderabad News

48 women rescued in IVF egg racket; Srushti case accused among 8 held

Hyderabad: A year after the sensational Srushti Fertility Centre scandal rocked Hyderabad, police have busted another alleged egg donation racket with links to 23 IVF centres, rescuing 48 women and arresting eight agents, including an accused in the 2025 case.Investigators suspect the women, brought from several states with promises of quick money, were being commercially exploited for egg retrieval in violation of fertility regulations. Police said some of the rescued women disclosed that hormonal injections and medicines had been administered to them in connection with the proposed egg retrieval procedures.Following searches at multiple locations across the city, the Malkajgiri commissionerate police arrested Amit Sharma, Nikhat Parveen, Reshma Khatoon, Meghavath Srinivas, J Pradeep, SK Parveen, Vijay Bhagwah Rao Salunke and Pankaj Soni. Amit Sharma, a native of Madhya Pradesh residing in Begumpet, was identified as the prime accused. Pankaj Soni is also an accused in the Srushti Fertility Centre case that came to light last year.Police said the accused functioned as agents who recruited women, arranged their stay and coordinated with IVF centres for egg retrieval procedures. Investigators found that the network had links with as many as 23 IVF centres in Hyderabad. Each accused allegedly played a different role in facilitating the racket.Three cases were registered and the accused were booked under Sections 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 143 (trafficking of persons), 271 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 272 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 318(4) (cheating), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 111 (organised crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, besides Sections 33(2) and 34 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.The rescued women, who are from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, were allegedly accommodated in private hostels arranged by the agents before being taken to IVF centres for egg pick-up procedures. According to investigators, each woman was paid between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 for donating eggs.“The women were rescued from Prakash Nagar, Begumpet, Erragadda, Saroornagar and Gopalpuram. From the spot, police seized vials of Humog HP injections, one syringe and two needles, primolut and meprate tablets and other material. The inspection also revealed concerns regarding the absence of authorised medical supervision and biomedical waste disposal,” Malkajgiri commissioner of police B Sumathi said.The seizure of hormone injections, medicines and medical material has raised concerns about how the procedures were being conducted and whether proper medical protocols were being followed.Officials said they are verifying whether the IVF centres were aware that the women were being recruited through agents and allegedly exploited for commercial egg donation. “Some of the women we suspect must have donated egg repeatedly and we are verifying,” police said.Investigators are also scrutinising the accused persons’ financial transactions and attempting to identify others involved in the network.The alleged involvement of an accused previously named in the high-profile 2025 Srushti Fertility Centre case also raised fresh concerns over the regulation of fertility services and exploitation of women in the reproductive healthcare sector.The bust is one of the largest crackdowns on an illegal egg donation network in recent years and has once again put the spotlight on alleged commercialisation and regulatory gaps in Hyderabad’s rapidly expanding fertility treatment sector.