The search operations are in connection with an illegal human egg extraction racket run by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others.
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 25 October, 2026: Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office-II, conducted search operations on 16.10.2026 at 10 premises including hospital/IVF centres located in Thane, Baramati and Nashik under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The searches were conducted in connection with an ongoing investigation into the Illegal Human Egg Extraction Racket.
ED investigation was initiated on the basis of FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station, Thane, Maharashtra, alleging offences of cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others.
The case pertains to an organised network involved in recruiting financially vulnerable women for human egg donation and supplying them to various IVF centres and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through donor-supply agents operating under different proprietorship concerns. The women were recruited in exchange for monetary compensation, which was paid through agents by IVF centres and ART banks. Agents also received commission on such activities. Further investigation has revealed that preparation and use of forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, affidavits, consent letters, birth certificates, PAN cards, blood-test reports and insurance papers, to conceal the identities of donors, facilitate repeat egg donations and falsely establish their medical fitness.
The women were allegedly sent to various establishments in Maharashtra and other states for human egg retrieval, thereby exposing them to potential medical risks and circumventing prescribed medical safeguards. During the search operations, cash amounting to Rs. 29 lakh was seized, while bank lockers and mutual fund investments were frozen. Incriminating documents and digital devices containing relevant material were also recovered. Further, new donor agents have been identified during the investigation. In addition, multiple immovable properties and investments involving substantial amounts have been identified. Further investigation is under progress
