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Eight people, including six women, were arrested by the Cyberabad’s Petbasheerabad police on Friday, August 15, for their alleged involvement in commercial surrogacy at Medchal. These arrests come a few weeks after Hyderabad’s Gopalpuram police arrested six people for duping a Hyderabad-based couple by promising them a child through surrogacy and handing them a baby who was not their biological child.
In the Medchal arrest, the Cyberabad police identified a woman named Narreddula Laxmi Reddy, hailing from Andhra Pradesh’s Chilakluripeta, as the prime accused. Laxmi Reddy was assisted by her son, Narender Reddy, a chemical engineering graduate from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU).
At a press meet held at the Petbasheerbad police station, Medchal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) N Kotireddy informed the media that Laxmi, a former egg donor and surrogate mother, had set up commercial surrogacy services and exploited several financially vulnerable women.
“Many women were persuaded to donate eggs or become surrogates and were referred to clinics in Hyderabad for large sums of money,” the Medchal DCP stated, adding that the police are currently trying to verify the role of fertility centres and hospitals involved in the racket.
“Laxmi also housed the women at her residence and collected additional maintenance charges from the hospital involved. Each intending parent availing her surrogacy services was charged between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, while surrogate mothers received Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for the procedure,” he added.
The six women arrested for allegedly acting as egg donors or surrogate mothers were identified as Golconda Sai Leela from Karnataka’s Bidar district, Malagalla Venkata Laxmi and Sadala Satyavathi from Andhra Pradesh’s Rampachodavaram, P Sunitha from Andhra’s Alluri Seetharamaraju district, and Pantada Aparna and J. Ramanamma from Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district.
Laxmi and the other accused have been booked under the Surrogacy Regulation Act, the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act, and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Juvenile Justice Act.
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