NEW DELHI: In a chilling twist to a suspected surrogacy scam, Hyderabad police have arrested eight people — including doctors and agents — for allegedly duping a Rajasthan-based couple by handing them a baby bought from a poor family and passing it off as their own biological child born through IVF. The racket centres around the Universal Srushti Fertility Centre in Secunderabad, run by Dr Athaluri Namratha (64), who is the prime accused. Among those arrested is Dr Nargula Sadanandam (41), an anesthetist at the state-run Gandhi Hospital, along with technicians and agents who allegedly facilitated the baby trade.
HOW THE SCAM UNFOLDED
- August 2024: The couple from Rajasthan approached the Secunderabad clinic for IVF consultation.
- Advised surrogacy: Dr Namratha allegedly convinced them to go for surrogacy, claiming their embryo would be implanted in a surrogate.
- Vizag referral: The couple was then asked to visit the Visakhapatnam branch for further procedures.
- Rs 35 lakh paid: Over the following months, the couple made payments totalling Rs 35 lakh.
- June 2025: They were informed that the surrogate had delivered a baby boy via C-section.
- Rs 2 lakh extra: The clinic allegedly demanded Rs 2 lakh as delivery charges and handed over the baby — along with forged documentation.
- DNA shocker: Suspicious, the couple had a DNA test conducted in Delhi — which confirmed the baby was not genetically related to them.
According to police sources, the clinic had actually bought the baby from a poor family for just Rs 90,000 and presented it as the result of the surrogacy. “The couple were misled into believing the child was theirs. The clinic fabricated the entire surrogacy procedure, and forged papers to hand over a baby purchased from another family,” said a senior Hyderabad police officer, adding that more victims may come forward as the investigation progresses. Police have also flagged that Dr Namratha had been previously linked to a 2020 child trafficking case. Further investigation is underway to determine the scale of the operation, the involvement of hospital staff, and how many such ‘IVF’ babies were in fact trafficked.
