Egg donation racket surfaced while probing prostitution tip-off, say police | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: The alleged commercial egg donation racket busted by police last week, in which 48 women were rescued and eight agents arrested, came to light accidentally when investigators followed a tip-off about a suspected prostitution racket at a hostel, Malkajgiri police commissioner B Sumati said on Thursday.Police are now probing whether assisted reproductive technology (ART) centres complied with mandatory norms while procuring eggs from donors. “After going there (hostel), we found that it was a case of egg donation racket and not prostitution,” Sumati said in response to a question during a press meet on Thursday.She said the investigation is still under way, and police are verifying whether ART centres followed the prescribed procedures while permitting egg retrieval. Investigators are also yet to ascertain whether the rescued women were administered hormonal injections.“We recovered hormonal-related medicines from the hostel. But whether they were used against the rescued women or not can be known only after we get the FSL report,” the CP said.Apart from this, police are examining the role of ART centres in complying with mandatory documentation requirements, including donor consent letters, family details, husband’s consent, health records, blood profile, Aadhaar card details, date of birth and other prescribed documents.Last Friday, police conducted searches at hostels in Begumpet, Uppal and a few other locations in the city, rescuing 48 women and arresting eight agents. Police alleged that the agents lured women into donating eggs in exchange for payments ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.Investigators suspect the network was operating as an organised commercial egg donation racket, with further scrutiny now focused on the role of intermediaries and compliance by ART centres.