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Eight people were arrested in Hyderabad for allegedly running an illegal human egg harvesting racket, following simultaneous raids by the police in Begumpet, Saroornagar, Prakashnagar, Erragadda, and other areas, carried out on October 30. Police reportedly found at least 43 women whom the main accused, Amit Sharma, had promised to pay Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 per oocyte donation cycle.
Some of the women, belonging to various states including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh, told the police that they had been facing financial difficulties. An FIR registered by the Begumpet police quoted the women as saying that they had travelled to Hyderabad and were accommodated at an apartment in Begumpet operating as a girls’ hostel based on assurances from Amit, who had acted as a broker.
Police have so far arrested eight persons including Amit and Nikhat Sharma, who were managing the Begumpet hostel and other premises, The Hindu reported. The accused have been booked for human trafficking, act endangering life or personal safety, negligent and malignant acts likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life, cheating, criminal conspiracy, organised crime, and for selling human gametes under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (ART Act).
The FIR stated that police received a complaint on suspected unauthorised oocyte (egg) donation-related activities and possible exploitation of women at an apartment building in Begumpet from a man named Jahangeer Khan.
At 1.40 pm on October 30, Begumpet Inspector of Police P Saidulu, along with police staff and officials of the Hyderabad District Medical and Health Department, conducted a joint inspection of the premises, which was functioning under the name of Ami Nita Girls Hostel.
The premises consisted of five sections, where around 13 women were accommodated. Some of the women told the police that Amit had offered to pay around Rs 50,000 for each oocyte (egg) donation cycle and they had come to Hyderabad for egg harvesting procedures due to financial difficulties.
They were told that they would undergo medical procedures at Padmaja Fertility Centre, Narmada Fertility Centre, and Oasis Fertility Centre in Banjara Hills, according to the FIR. Some women also said that hormonal injections and medicines were being administered to them in connection with these proposed procedures.
The health officials found that there was no evidence of authorised medical supervision at the premises, and medical waste including vials had been improperly discarded without following biomedical waste disposal procedures.
Police seized various hormonal injections, tablets, medicines, medical-related materials, and documents at the premises, including four vials of Humog HP 150 I.U. (Menotrophin) injections.
Malkajgiri Commissioner of Police B Sumathi told The Hindu that the police were examining how the women were recruited from different states and brought to Hyderabad. The raids were carried out by the Begumpet and Saroornagar police, along with the Special Operations Team of the Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate.
