Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) In fresh action in a human egg extraction racket, the ED conducted search operations at 10 premises, including hospital/IVF centres, located in Thane, Baramati and Nashik and seized digital evidence and Rs 29 lakh in cash, an official said on Thursday.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office-II, conducted search operations on October 16 at the10 premises under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The ED investigation was initiated based on an FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station, Thane, Maharashtra, alleging offences of cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others, the ED said in a statement.
The case pertains to an organised network involved in recruiting financially vulnerable women for human egg donation and supplying them to various IVF centres and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through donor-supply agents operating under different proprietorship concerns, the ED said.
The women were recruited in exchange for monetary compensation, which was paid through agents by IVF centres and ART banks. Agents also received commission on such activities, it said.
Further investigation has revealed that preparation and use of forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, affidavits, consent letters, birth certificates, PAN cards, blood-test reports and insurance papers, to conceal the identities of donors, facilitate repeat egg donations and falsely establish their medical fitness, the ED said.
The women were allegedly sent to various establishments in Maharashtra and other states for human egg retrieval, thereby exposing them to potential medical risks and circumventing prescribed medical safeguards, it said.
During the search operations, cash amounting to Rs 29 lakh was seized, while bank lockers and mutual fund investments were frozen. Incriminating documents and digital devices containing relevant material were also recovered. Further, new donor agents have been identified during the investigation, the ED said.
In addition, multiple immovable properties and investments involving substantial amounts have been identified, it said.
The ED is conducting further investigation to identify other modules of the illegal network, the statement said.
–IANS
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