Seven hospitals are under the scanner in the case of the Tamil Nadu teenager who was forced to donate her ova eight times by her mother. The Erode police on Tuesday, June 14, summoned executives of two private hospitals — in Tirupati and Thiruvananthapuram — and the police has recorded statements from the staff of five other fertility clinics in the state.
This came after relatives of the 16-year-old girl, on June 1, complained against the girl’s mother, mother's partner, and mother's friend — who acted as an agent — and forced the teen to be a donor. A day later, police arrested the trio and registered cases under the POCSO Act and other related sections.
Relatives of the girl filed a complaint with the Erode South police station over the girl being forced to sell her eggs to private fertility clinics in Erode and neighboring districts. The girl was also allegedly sexually assaulted by her mother's partner several times. According to the FIR, the girl’s mother separated from her husband when the child was three years old, and had since been living with her partner.
According to The New Indian Express, executives from five fertility clinics — located in Perundurai, Erode, Trichy, Salem, and Hosur — were summoned and statements were recorded. “We summoned officials from hospitals and they have submitted documents. We also recorded statements regarding embryo donation from the minor for surrogacy," a police officer told the paper
In addition to this, based on information obtained from hospitals in Perundurai and Hosur, the police summoned executives from hospitals in Tirupati and Thiruvananthapuram. As per the report, these hospitals have sought time to gather documents.
A detailed chargesheet will be submitted by the police after these executives are questioned.
In addition to this, a team from the Health Department led by Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services Dr A Viswanathan is also probing the case.
Speaking to TNM, Dr A Viswanathan said his team had a lead to the hospital in Tirupati after an inquiry was conducted at the hospital in Hosur. The team also got references from Perundurai hospital which led them to the hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
"We already conducted inquiries at two hospitals in Erode, and one hospital each in Salem and Hosur. We are about to summon these two fertility clinics that are located in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh for further inquiry,” he said. A report from the Health Department team is expected to be submitted after the inquiry in these two hospitals is completed.
The girl was just 12 years old when she was forced to donate her ova for the first time. In four years, she has been forced to sell her eggs eight times. Her mother used forged Aadhaar cards to sell the ova, and the Erode police arrested a man who forged the ID with a fake name, address, and year of birth.