THANE/ MUMBAI: The Badlapur police arrested Dr Amol Patil, director of Malti IVF Centre in Thane, on Tuesday night, in connection with the alleged illegal human egg extraction and surrogacy racket. Dr Patil has been charged with operating an unauthorised IVF centre in Thane, for conducting illegal surrogacy procedures and selling human eggs. Police are also investigating his and the centre’s possible involvement in international surrogacy and human egg trafficking.
Malti IVF Centre is registered in Nashik.
Dr Patil is the sixth person arrested in the case. Recently, four women and one man were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the racket, which was being operated from an apartment in Badlapur.
Sachin Gore, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 4, told Hindustan Times, “As part of the investigation we had summoned Dr Patil to examine his role in the racket. The arrested agents and other accused were reporting directly to him. After interrogation, we arrested him for running the Thane center without legal permissions, his involvement in illegal egg extraction and suspected links to an international surrogacy racket. He has been remanded to five days police custody.”
Leaders ask for action
Meanwhile, the egg extraction racket was discussed in the legislative council on Wednesday, where deputy chairperson of Maharashtra Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe said that the registration of accused doctor must be cancelled.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh underscored that many poor women were offered money and their eggs removed and sold for IVF cycles, “which is not just a criminal case, but also commercialisation of body parts of poor women”.
“People have taken advantage of their poverty. I visited the place and found that women who have delivered one child are chosen and once the egg is fertilised, they are given money. These eggs are removed in certain centres in the state or in Telangana or IVF centres in Karnataka. Thereafter, no medical aid is given and they are sent back,” said Wagh.
She added, “Dr Amol Patil and (his wife) Dr Vandana Patil were permitted to run their IVF centre in Nashik but were they also operating one in Thane. They claimed that they were only consulting with patients in Thane, but I know they treated them as well. Dr Amol Patil, who has been arrested under the Surrogacy (regulation) act, 2021, was acting as the main agent. As over 20 women were victimised, I want to know what injections they were given to them and their effects on them.”
She underscored, as names of all the accused arrested feature in the home department’s portal, the government “must start a portal where all IVF centres are listed; their data must be collected using Aadhaar and finger prints”.
Minister of state for home, Yogesh Kadam, said, “Many Aadhaar cards were used for a single donor woman. Going forward, we will make Aadhaar cards mandatory for each registration at IVC centres.”