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Authorities have cracked down on Illegal surrogacy, baby-selling and unauthorized medical procedures at Universal Srushti Fertility and Research Centre, in Secunderabad, its affiliated branches in Kondapur, Kukkatpally in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, tv9 telugu reported.
Officials have also ramped up their inspections at fertility centres in various parts of North Andhra after fraudulent activities were exposed at the fertility centre.
Universal Srishti Fertility and Research Center was registered on on June 8, 2018 and it had registration till June 7, 2023, officials said.
Speaking to Tv9 Telugu, District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Jagadeeshwar Rao said, “The fertility clinic had a license only till 2023. It was being operated secretly in a different building than the one it was previously operated in and it went under the radar, completely unnoticed.
We have already provided complete information regarding Srushti to the Hyderabad Police. For now, all its offices are locked.”
The fraud revolves around Dr P Namratha, the 64-year-old director of the fertility clinic, who has now been arrested in Vijayawada. This is the second time she has been arrested. In 2020, she was arrested in a child trafficking case, where she and her accomplices were found guilty for illegally selling six new born babies to childless couples.
This case has come to light after a Rajasthani couple registered a complaint, saying that the baby they received from the clinic wasn’t their biological child after DNA testing.
Following her arrest, the police in Visakhapatnam have arrested C Kalyani Atchyamma, the manager of the Vizag branch. A total of eight people have been arrested in the case, including Namratha and her son Jayant Krishna. All accused have been remanded to custody for 14 days.
The abandoned baby’s fate:
After the Rajasthani couple discovered that the baby wasn’t theirs, they refused to take him back and the infant has now been shifted to the government run Shishu Vihar in Ameerpet. Police officials said that the child will remain there till the inquiry is completed. The fate of the baby is not known just yet.
The biological parents of the child, who are originally from Assam settled in Hyderabad. They were reportedly paid Rs 90,000 by the clinic in exchange for their newborn.
