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Hyderabad Surrogacy Racket: ED Seizes 50 Properties Worth ₹29.76 Crore of Doctor Accused of Child Trafficking
Moneylife Digital Team 11 March 2026
Economy & Nation
The directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 50 immovable properties worth ₹29.76 crore in connection with an alleged illegal surrogacy and child trafficking racket operated by a Hyderabad-based doctor through Universal Srusthi Fertility & Research Centre.
 
In a release, the agency said the action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 during an ongoing investigation into a racket allegedly run by Dr Pachipalli Namratha, also known as Athluri Namratha, through the fertility clinic.
 
According to ED, the attached assets include land parcels, residential flats and a hospital registered in the name of Dr Namratha and her sons. While the properties have been provisionally attached at a value of ₹29.76 crore, their present market value is estimated to be around ₹50 crore.
 
ED initiated its investigation based on multiple first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Gopalapuram police station in Hyderabad, which alleged offences including fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, illegal surrogacy and child trafficking.
 
Investigators say Dr Namratha allegedly operated a network that supplied newborn babies to childless couples under the guise of legitimate surrogacy procedures carried out through her fertility clinic.
 
According to the agency, couples seeking children were asked to pay large sums of money with the promise that a surrogate mother would carry their child. As part of the process, their gametes were collected to create the impression of a legitimate medical procedure.
 
However, ED alleged that the babies delivered to these couples were actually sourced from poor and vulnerable families. Investigations found that agents and sub-agents were used to identify pregnant women from economically distressed backgrounds and persuade them with financial incentives to give up their babies soon after birth.
 
The probe further revealed that the accused allegedly paid around ₹3.5 lakh for a female child and ₹4.5 lakh for a male child.
 
Authorities say many of these deliveries were conducted at a hospital in Visakhapatnam after the licence of the clinic run by Dr Namratha in Secunderabad was revoked by authorities.
 
ED also alleged that birth records submitted to municipal authorities were forged, with the names of the commissioning couples shown as parents instead of the biological parents.
 
According to investigators, Dr Namratha had allegedly been operating the racket since 2014 and continued the activities even after several criminal cases were registered against her and her medical licence was suspended.
 
ED says several couples were allegedly cheated through the scheme, with large sums collected from them through both bank transfers and cash payments. Investigators analysing bank accounts linked to the accused found that the money collected from couples was routed to agents and sub-agents as commission and subsequently paid to the biological parents of the trafficked babies.
 
During the investigation, officials identified several properties acquired in the name of Dr Namratha and her sons, with payments for many of these assets allegedly made in cash using the proceeds of crime.
 
The agency had earlier arrested Dr Namratha on 12 February 2026 under provisions of the PMLA and she is currently in judicial custody. ED says further investigation in the case is underway.
 
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