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The Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad on March 10 provisionally attached 50 immovable properties worth Rs 29.76 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in connection with an illegal surrogacy racket.
The case involving Dr Namratha, who operated under the name of Universal Srusthi Fertility & Research Centre in the city was accused of violating the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. Namratha, the biological parents and five others were arrested on July 27, 2025 for cheating a Hyderabad-based couple by promising them a child through surrogacy but handing them a baby who is not biologically theirs.
The attached assets include land parcels, flats, and a hospital registered in the names of Dr Namratha and her sons. Authorities estimate the current market value of these properties to be around ₹50 crore.
The ED initiated its investigation based on multiple FIRs registered by the Gopalapuram Police Station in Hyderabad, which alleged fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, illegal surrogacy, and child trafficking. Investigators found that the accused allegedly ran a racket supplying newborn babies to childless couples under the guise of surrogacy arrangements.
As per findings, large sums of money were collected from couples with promises of facilitating childbirth through surrogate mothers. While the couples’ gametes were collected to lend legitimacy to the process, the babies were reportedly sourced from economically vulnerable parents who were unable to raise their children or were persuaded to give them up. A network of agents and sub-agents was allegedly involved in identifying and recruiting such women.
The investigation further revealed that payments ranging from ₹3.5 lakh for a female child to ₹4.5 lakh for a male child were allegedly made to biological parents. Deliveries were conducted at a hospital in Visakhapatnam after the licence of the accused’s Secunderabad facility was revoked. Officials also stated that birth records submitted to municipal authorities were falsified to show the commissioning couples as the biological parents.
Authorities believe the racket had been operational since 2014 and continued even after multiple cases were registered and the accused’s medical licence was suspended. Financial analysis indicates that funds collected from couples were routed through bank accounts and used to pay agents and biological parents.
The ED had earlier arrested Dr. Namratha on February 12, 2026, under Section 19 of the PMLA. She is currently in judicial custody.
Further investigation is underway.