Mumbai, October 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at 10 premises, including hospitals and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) centres, in Thane, Baramati and Nashik in connection with an alleged human egg extraction racket. The agency seized Rs 29 lakh in cash and digital evidence during the operation, an official said on Thursday.
The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office-II carried out the searches on October 16 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
According to an ED statement, the investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station in Thane district, Maharashtra. The case alleges cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
The allegations involve Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others.
The agency said the case concerns an organised network allegedly engaged in recruiting financially vulnerable women for egg donation and supplying them to IVF centres and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through donor-supply agents operating under different proprietorship concerns.
According to investigators, the women were recruited in exchange for monetary compensation, which was paid through agents by IVF centres and ART banks. The agents allegedly earned commissions from these arrangements.
The ED’s investigation has also revealed the alleged preparation and use of forged documents to conceal donors’ identities, facilitate repeated egg donations and falsely establish their medical fitness. The documents reportedly included Aadhaar cards, affidavits, consent letters, birth certificates, PAN cards, blood-test reports and insurance papers.
The agency further alleged that women were sent to various establishments in Maharashtra and other states for egg retrieval, potentially exposing them to medical risks and bypassing prescribed medical safeguards.
During the searches, officials seized Rs 29 lakh in cash and recovered documents and digital devices containing material relevant to the investigation. Bank lockers and mutual fund investments were also frozen, the ED said.
The agency added that investigators had identified additional donor agents and traced multiple immovable properties and investments involving substantial amounts.
The ED is continuing its investigation to identify other networks and uncover the full extent of the alleged illegal operations.
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