The suspect allegedly created forged Aadhaar cards and other identity documents for economically vulnerable women who were exploited by the racket, police said
Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests may follow. Representational Pic/File
Thane Police have arrested an electrician from Jalgaon district in Maharashtra in connection with an alleged illegal human egg extraction and surrogacy racket, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven, officials said on Friday, reported the PTI.
The accused, identified as Satish Chaudhary, allegedly created forged Aadhaar cards and other identity documents for economically vulnerable women who were exploited by the racket.
Police said these fake documents were used to hide the victims’ identities and facilitate illegal fertility procedures without raising suspicion.
Earlier this week, investigators arrested Dr Amol Patil, a dentist from Nashik, who allegedly helped arrange illegal surrogate mother contracts. According to the police, he operated Malti IVF Center, an IVF facility registered in his wife’s name, where the alleged illegal activities were being carried out, as per the PTI.
Officials said the case points to a large and organised network, and further arrests are likely as the investigation continues into the involvement of more medical professionals and intermediaries.
Complaint exposes racket in Badlapur
The racket came to light in Badlapur in Thane district after a woman complained that she had not received payment for donating her eggs. The complaint prompted police to raid the residence of the alleged kingpin, Sulakshana Gadekar (44), where hormonal injections used in the egg extraction process were recovered, according to the PTI.
Investigators suspect that the racket has interstate links. Data retrieved from mobile phones indicates that women were lured with offers of Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. After receiving hormonal injections at Gadekar’s residence, they were transported to Bengaluru, Telangana, Nagpur, Pune and Nashik for egg extraction procedures, the news agency reported.
Egg donation is a fertility procedure in which a woman provides eggs to help another person conceive, typically through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The donor undergoes screening and hormone treatment before eggs are retrieved, fertilised and transferred to the recipient.
Sonography centre sealed
Meanwhile, civic authorities sealed a sonography centre at Bhagwan Hospital in Ulhasnagar for allegedly violating regulations and allowing unqualified personnel to conduct scans. Earlier, a nurse from the same hospital had been arrested for allegedly performing unauthorised sonography to monitor egg development for the syndicate, the news agency reported.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and more arrests may follow.
(with PTI inputs)
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