Agent Held in Oocyte Racket; UIDAI Hurdle Stalls Probe
The probe has now shifted to identifying donors through other leads and establishing the end recipients of the eggs. Police are examining which fertility centres or individuals received them and the network through which they were distributed.
Hyderabad: Begumpet police probing the oocyte donation racket busted in Malkajgiri arrested another agent who allegedly forged Aadhaar cards of women recruited for egg donation, even as the investigation hit a hurdle with the UIDAI Regional Centre in Ameerpet reportedly declining to furnish identity details, citing third‑party restrictions. Police are now focusing on identifying the actual donors and tracing the fertility centres and recipients to whom their eggs were supplied.
The accused, Praveen Kumar, 34, is alleged to have played a key role in fabricating identity documents of women procured from different states. Investigators suspect he had been involved for nearly a year, arranging forged Aadhaar cards to facilitate donor registration with Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks.
According to police, women were recruited by agents with monetary inducements and housed in hostels. Under ART regulations, donors must be registered with ART banks, which require identity documents before accepting them. Praveen allegedly created Aadhaar cards using photographs of the actual donors but with identity particulars of other individuals. These were submitted to ART banks as genuine records.
With Aadhaar documents suspected to be fabricated, investigators are struggling to establish the true identities of the women whose eggs were collected. Police sought UIDAI’s help to verify details, but officials reportedly cited restrictions and refused to share information.
The probe has now shifted to identifying donors through other leads and establishing the end recipients of the eggs. Police are examining which fertility centres or individuals received them and the network through which they were distributed.
Begumpet police are expected to take Praveen into custody for five days from Wednesday. Questioning will focus on how the forged documents were prepared, the identities of the women recruited, the agents involved and the ART banks and fertility centres to which the eggs were supplied.
The case has brought the role of agents, donors, fertility centres and ART banks under scrutiny. Investigators suspect that despite being mandated under the ART Act to maintain proper registration and oversight, ART banks failed to discharge responsibilities, allowing illegal fertility activities to thrive.
