Baby-selling scam: ED attaches 50 properties, arrests 25 people
Dr. Pachipala Namratha, a Hyderabad-based doctor, allegedly ran an illegal baby-selling racket disguised as surrogacy from 2014 to 2025.
She reportedly bought newborns from vulnerable women, including those seeking abortions, for ₹3.5 lakh per girl and ₹4.5 lakh per boy, then sold them to childless couples for up to ₹35 lakh each.
No real surrogacy or IVF was done. The babies weren't biologically related to the buyers.
Namratha faked birth certificates, DNA reports
Namratha operated out of a Visakhapatnam clinic, faking birth certificates and DNA reports so buyers appeared as the babies' biological parents.
Her son, advocate Pachipala S.S. Jayanth Krishna, ran a legal office from the clinic premises and has been arrested.
The Enforcement Directorate estimated proceeds of about ₹29.7 crore and provisionally attached around 50 properties — including hospital buildings and agricultural land — across Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.
So far, 25 people have been arrested, including Namratha and her son; the cases have been transferred to the Central Crime Station's Special Investigation Team.