Hyderabad police have rescued 48 women and arrested eight alleged agents in a suspected egg donation racket linked to as many as 23 IVF centres across the city, with investigators examining whether the women were commercially exploited and exposed to procedures without proper medical supervision.
The arrests were made by Malkajgiri commissionerate police after searches at several locations, including Prakash Nagar, Begumpet, Erragadda, Saroornagar and Gopalpuram. The accused were identified as Amit Sharma, Nikhat Parveen, Reshma Khatoon, Meghavath Srinivas, J Pradeep, SK Parveen, Vijay Bhagwah Rao Salunke and Pankaj Soni. Police identified Sharma, a Madhya Pradesh native residing in Begumpet, as the alleged prime accused.
Soni is also an accused in the Srushti Fertility Centre case that came to light in 2025. The latest investigation has renewed scrutiny of how women are recruited for egg donation and how fertility centres monitor the agents and intermediaries involved in arranging such procedures.
According to investigators, the women were brought from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh after allegedly being promised quick payments. They were accommodated in private hostels arranged by the agents and taken to IVF centres for egg retrieval procedures. Police said each woman was allegedly paid between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000.
The police said the accused performed different roles, including recruiting women, arranging their accommodation and coordinating with IVF centres. Investigators are now checking whether the centres knew that the women had been recruited through agents and were allegedly being used for commercial egg donation. Police are also examining whether some women underwent egg retrieval repeatedly.
Malkajgiri commissioner of police B Sumathi said officers seized vials of Humog HP injections, a syringe, two needles, Primolut and Meprate tablets and other material during the searches. The inspection also raised concerns about the absence of authorised medical supervision and arrangements for biomedical waste disposal, according to the police statement.
Some of the rescued women told investigators that they had received hormonal injections and medicines in connection with proposed egg retrieval procedures. The seizure of medical material and the reported concerns about supervision have led police to examine whether the procedures followed required medical protocols. The supplied report does not establish the medical outcome for the women or whether any IVF centre has been found legally liable.
Police registered three cases and booked the accused under Sections 125, 143, 271, 272, 318(4), 61(2) and 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 33(2) and 34 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. The charges include alleged acts endangering personal safety, trafficking, cheating, criminal conspiracy and organised crime.
Investigators are scrutinising the accused persons’ financial transactions and attempting to identify others who may have been involved. Police are also continuing to verify the role of the 23 IVF centres and whether the alleged recruitment and treatment arrangements breached fertility regulations.
