A Hyderabad couple’s fertility dream became a terrifying reality when a DNA test showed that the child they thought was biologically theirs was actually unrelated to them. The information has exposed a vast baby-selling and illicit surrogacy network that is purportedly run by well-known reproductive specialist Dr. A. Namratha and her accomplices in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
In a case that exposes the darkest edges of the commercial surrogacy and IVF industry, Hyderabad Police on Sunday said eight individuals have been arrested—including the doctor herself, agents, and even the original parents of the baby. The child was allegedly “sold” and fraudulently passed off as a surrogate-born child; it is currently in state custody.
The Deception Begins
In August 2024, the victim couple went to the fertility clinic to get advice and treatment for IVF. Dr. Namratha suggested that they choose surrogacy. The couple was subsequently directed to the Visakhapatnam branch of the clinic for “sample collection.” They were promised that a surrogate would be arranged and an embryo would be transferred following standard procedure.
Over the course of nine months, the couple was made to pay over ₹35 lakh in the name of consultation, procedural, and delivery charges. In June 2025, the couple was informed that the surrogate had delivered a baby boy via cesarean section at the Visakhapatnam facility.
Along with the baby, the couple was handed official-looking documentation, including a birth certificate that recognized them as biological parents. They were dubious, as there were some irregularities and no mention of surrogacy. They were immediately reassured by a private DNA test that the baby wasn’t theirs.
The Quiet Segregation of Ethics and Law
As Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Rashmi Perumal confirmed, the clinic didn’t just cut ethical corners—it allegedly manipulated every step of the fertility journey. Vulnerable women, many of them seeking abortions, were targeted and lured into continuing pregnancies in exchange for money. These babies were then marketed as surrogate-born children to desperate couples.
“It was never a case of failed surrogacy. There was no surrogacy at all,” said the DCP. “These were full pregnancies from other parents, misrepresented and sold.”
A follow-up probe found that the original parents of the baby had been identified and paid a token sum before the baby was handed over to the unsuspecting couple. Both original parents are now under arrest on charges related to baby-selling. The child has been placed in the care of ‘Shishu Vihar,’ a state-run child shelter.
The Clinic’s Shadowy Web
Police investigations revealed that Dr. Namratha operated a network of fertility centers in Hyderabad’s Gopalapuram, Vijayawada, Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Kondapur. Though her Gopalapuram clinic had already lost its medical registration, she continued operations illegally, allegedly using another certified doctor’s name to create a façade of legality.
Further troubling details emerged: Namratha’s son reportedly ran financial operations from an office on the same premises and helped silence protesting clients with intimidation.
The doctor carried on with her business unchallenged in spite of the several complaints that had already been filed against her throughout Andhra Pradesh. The Medical and Health Department has now locked the Hyderabad clinic.
A System in Crisis
This case raises fundamental questions about the lack of oversight in the IVF and fertility sector—especially in smaller towns where hope often overrides caution. It also highlights how surrogacy, when left unregulated or corruptly monitored, can become a cover for exploitation and child trafficking.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing, and further legal action will follow.
