The Enforcement Directorate has searched 10 locations, including hospitals, IVF centres and assisted reproductive technology banks, in Baramati, Thane and Nashik as part of an investigation into an alleged illegal human egg trade involving economically vulnerable women.
The searches were conducted by the agency’s Mumbai zonal office, according to a report by Sakal – Pune. The operation followed a case registered at Badlapur East police station in Thane district against Manjusha Wankhede and 16 other people under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
The ED began investigating the suspected financial transactions on the basis of the chargesheet filed by the police. The agency’s action covers facilities and intermediaries allegedly involved in persuading women to donate human eggs in exchange for money and routing them to IVF centres and ART banks.
According to information attributed to ED sources in the report, agents and agencies allegedly identified women facing financial hardship and arranged for them to undergo egg donation procedures. IVF centres and ART banks allegedly paid the women a fixed amount through intermediaries, while the remaining money was retained as agent commissions.
The investigation has also identified alleged use of fabricated documents. These reportedly included PAN cards, affidavits, birth-date certificates, blood-test reports and insurance papers. The documents were allegedly prepared to conceal the women’s identities and create the appearance that they were medically fit for the procedures.
The report states that the documents were allegedly used to arrange repeated egg collection from the same women in violation of applicable medical rules. Some women were reportedly sent to centres in Maharashtra and other states. The alleged practices raised concerns about serious risks to the women’s health, although the investigation’s findings and the responsibility of individual facilities remain subject to due process.
During the searches, the ED seized cash amounting to Rs 29 lakh, along with documents and digital devices described as incriminating material. The agency has also frozen the bank lockers and mutual fund investments of suspects, according to the report.
The searches form part of a wider financial investigation into the alleged racket. The agency has reportedly identified the names of additional agents and is tracing the property holdings and financial investments of the suspects. The ED is also examining whether the network extended to other cities.
The case places the regulatory framework for assisted reproductive technology under scrutiny. IVF centres and ART banks operate within a system that requires medical, documentation and consent-related safeguards, while enforcement agencies are examining whether intermediaries exploited gaps in oversight. The immediate investigation, however, remains focused on the alleged criminal network, its financial trail and the facilities connected to it.
