India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a major illegal surrogacy racket in Hyderabad, seizing key documents and properties linked to Dr. Pachipalli Namratha, also known as Athluri Namratha. The agency raided nine locations across Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam on Thursday, targeting her Universal Srusthi Fertility and Research Centre.
The ED’s Hyderabad Zonal Office launched the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after police in Gopalapuram, Hyderabad, filed multiple FIRs. Those reports accused Dr. Namratha of fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, illegal surrogacy, and even child trafficking.
During the searches, investigators grabbed incriminating papers showing how Dr. Namratha ran this surrogacy scam for over a decade. She targeted childless couples across India, setting up operations in cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Nellore, and Kolkata. To cover her tracks, she faked surrogacy agreements that made it look like couples and surrogates came to her willingly for legitimate services.
One shocking discovery: A couple with foreign passports learned the hard way when a DNA test proved the child from her clinic wasn’t theirs biologically. That led to the denial of the child’s passport, exposing the surrogacy fraud.
The raids also revealed properties Dr. Namratha bought using money from the racket—funds the ED calls “proceeds of crime.” She’s accused of teaming up with employees and agents to push desperate couples toward surrogacy instead of standard IVF treatments.
Take the case that sparked the initial police complaint: A couple paid Dr. Namratha Rs 30 lakh—half by cheque, half in cash—for a surrogacy baby using their own egg and sperm. The clinic promised to handle all paperwork, screen embryos, implant them in a surrogate, and confirm everything with a DNA test before handing over a healthy child. They even said part of the cash went to the surrogate. But when the couple got a baby boy, the DNA results showed he wasn’t theirs.
Agents played a dirty role too, scouting poor and vulnerable pregnant women, luring them with cash offers to hand over their newborns right after birth. The ED says Dr. Namratha cheated multiple couples this way, collecting huge sums through cheques and cash. She paid small cuts to the surrogates, women who gave up their kids, and the agents, but pocketed most of the money for herself—including splashing out on personal properties.
The investigation into this surrogacy racket and money laundering continues, with the ED digging deeper into Dr. Namratha’s operations.
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