Daijiworld Media Network- Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Aug 13: A shocking child trafficking racket has been unearthed in Telangana, with Hyderabad Police exposing a fake surrogacy scam at Universal Srushti Fertility Centre in Secunderabad. Investigators say no genuine surrogacy procedures were carried out at the clinic, which instead procured babies from vulnerable biological parents and sold them to desperate couples under the guise of IVF and surrogacy services.

Hyderabad North Zone DCP S Rashmi Perumal revealed that couples, many of whom paid between Rs 30 to Rs 40 lakh for what they believed was a biological child, were deceived with forged medical and DNA reports. “All the babies handed over had no genetic link to the paying couples,” she said.

Police have so far arrested 25 people — including four doctors, lab technicians, managers, agents, and biological parents — in connection with the case. The accused include clinic owner Dr Athaluri Namrata, who has a history of criminal cases related to cheating, child trafficking, and medical fraud, and her son, advocate Pachipala SS Jayanth Krishna.

The network’s modus operandi involved collecting sperm and egg samples from couples, claiming embryos had been created and implanted, and then — nine months later — handing over babies procured through agents. Boys were sold for Rs 4.5 lakh and girls for Rs 3.5 lakh, while biological parents reportedly received as little as Rs 90,000.

In one case, a couple from Rajasthan discovered the fraud after an independent DNA test proved the child they received was unrelated to them. Another couple was shown a dead infant — later found to have no link to them — after paying Rs 22 lakh. Two abandoned babies from the racket are now in state care at Shishu Vihar.

Among the victims of the scam was 90-year-old gynaecologist Dr Suri Shrimathi, whose identity and medical licence were misused in clinic documents without her knowledge.

Given the scale and seriousness of the offences, the Hyderabad Police Commissioner has transferred the case to the Central Crime Station’s Special Investigation Team. The Telangana government has also ordered an inspection of all fertility centres in the state.

DCP Rashmi has urged the public to be vigilant, warning that commercial surrogacy is illegal in India and advising couples to seek help only from licensed and compliant medical professionals.