Varanasi: The Police has busted a gang exploiting teenage girls and women to illegally donate eggs for financial gain.
The arrests of four individuals, including Anmol Jaiswal, Anita Devi, Seema Devi, and Ashish Kumar, were made after a complaint was filed by a woman on October 29. The complainant alleged that her daughter after being manipulated by Seema Devi, was coerced into donating her eggs at a Varanasi IVF centre in exchange for Rs 30,000. However, she was only given Rs 11,500.
After investigation a case was registered under various IPC sections, including kidnapping, cheating, forgery, and exploitation of a trafficked person. Sections of the Aadhaar Card Act (2016) and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act (2021) were also invoked against the perpetrators, said the Police.
The police revealed that the gang targeted economically weaker minor girls, enticing them with promises of money for egg donation. The accused forged documents and identity cards of many girls and took them to prominent IVF centres, where they donated the eggs. According to the police, these eggs were later sold to childless couples in exchange for exorbitant sums.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Varanasi Dr Nikunj Verma said that an egg donor must be over 23 years old, married, and have at least one child who is a minimum of three years old. Furthermore, a woman is eligible to donate eggs only once in her lifetime, and the maximum number of eggs that can be collected from her is limited to seven. (with Agency inputs)
