DNA test revealed no biological link between the newborn and the couple
Hyderabad: In a shocking revelation, the police in Secunderabad have uncovered a fake surrogacy racket being run under the guise of a fertility clinic. The kingpin of the operation, a woman doctor, was found trafficking newborn babies under the pretext of surrogacy through an unlicensed fertility centre. While the investigation is ongoing to determine how many babies were handed over as “IVF babies,” one case has already fully exposed the scam.
According to police reports, a couple approached the alleged fertility clinic in 2024 seeking IVF treatment. They were advised to opt for surrogacy and were assured that the child would be biologically theirs. In June 2025, the couple was handed a two-day-old baby. However, suspicions arose when they conducted a private DNA test, which revealed no biological link between the newborn and the couple, thereby exposing the fraud.
Newborn Bought for Rs 90,000, Sold for Rs35 Lakh
The investigation revealed that the IVF centre had purchased the baby from a poor couple in Hyderabad for Rs 90,000 and sold it to the unsuspecting couple for Rs 35 lakh, falsely claiming it to be a surrogate child.
On Sunday, Hyderabad Police arrested eight individuals in connection with the racket, including the main accused Dr. Athaluri Namrata (64), anesthetist Dr. Nargula Sadanandam (41) from Gandhi Government Hospital, as well as several agents and technicians. They have been charged with cheating couples under the guise of surrogacy and operating a baby-selling racket.
Authorities also found that the license of the implicated fertility centre, Universal Srushti Fertility Centre, had been revoked in 2021. Dr. Namrata had been running it illegally and was also operating three other centres in Kondapur (Hyderabad), Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam — all of which were raided on Sunday.
How the Surrogacy Racket Was Exposed
DCP (North Zone) S Rashmi Perumal stated that they are currently investigating other couples who underwent IVF or surrogacy treatments at the various branches of the fertility centre. Dr. Namrata had already been under scrutiny in the past. In 2016, following allegations from an NRI couple in the US that the baby given to them via surrogacy was not biologically theirs, the Telangana Medical Council had suspended her medical license for five years.
In 2020, Dr. Namrata was again arrested by Visakhapatnam Police along with five others on charges of newborn trafficking. Police confirmed that over 10 criminal cases had previously been registered against her across Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Guntur.
The latest case came to light on July 26 when a city-based couple lodged a complaint with Gopalpuram Police, alleging that the baby they received through commercial surrogacy from Srushti Test Tube Baby Centre was not genetically related to the father. Independent DNA testing confirmed the claim. The couple had paid Rs. 35 lakh for the surrogacy procedure.
This is not a case of legitimate surrogacy. Dr. Namrata and her staff were luring poor pregnant women with money and buying their newborns to sell them to childless couples. The baby that was sold actually belongs to Mohammed Ali Adik and Nasreen Begum, residents of Assam. They were paid Rs 90,000, and the delivery was arranged in Visakhapatnam.
