Mumbai: Sahar police have unearthed a surrogacy racket in which unmarried women were sent abroad from Mumbai with fake marriage documents to donate eggs in foreign countries.As Indian laws specify that only married women can donate eggs, and that too for altruistic reasons, the police detained an unmarried Thane resident who donated eggs multiple times in various countries (including at an IVF clinic in Andheri) for money. The agent, a Kalyan resident who organised these visits and deals, was also arrested.The racket was unearthed on Friday when these women arrived from Bangkok and were unable to provide satisfactory answers to the immigration officials at Mumbai International Airport. During questioning, it emerged they were associated with an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) centre registered in Thane. The police were searching for a third woman, reportedly an agent.The immigration officials first stopped Sunoti Belel (44) around 1.30pm on Friday. Thirty minutes later, Thane’s Seema Vinzarat (29) arrived at the same counter from Bangkok. Officials questioned both and learned that Vinzarat accompanied Belel to Bangkok for advanced diagnostic tests needed before an egg donation and was paid a “big sum”.“Belel operates along with her accomplice, Sangita Bagul. They established an IVF centre in Thane in 2024 and arranged fake marriage documents to avoid legal hurdles when an egg donor flew,” said a Sahar police officer.Belel established an agency named ‘Elite Care’ in Thane with Bagul. “Through this agency, they supply ‘egg donors’ and ‘surrogate mothers’ to fertility centres in India and abroad,” according to the police.Under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, it is mandatory for a woman to be married and have at least 1 child of her own to donate eggs in India. The Act also bans commercial surrogacy and only permits altruistic surrogacy, in which the surrogate receives no payment beyond medical expenses and insurance.In the complaint, immigration officer Vaibhav Bhosale said that he got suspicious when he asked Belel for her purpose in travelling to Bangkok. “She did not give satisfactory answers,” he said, referring her to the wing in-charge for further questioning. Later, Vinzarat also arrived from Bangkok. “She too failed to give a satisfactory answer,” he added.Further questioning revealed Belel took Vinzarat to Bangkok for tests before egg donation. “Vinzarat said she came in contact with Bagul in 2022. Through this agent, she sold her eggs at an Andheri hospital in 2023. She went to Myra Clinic, Kenya, in 2024, Miracle Clinic in Kazakhstan in Feb 2025, and Takara Clinic in Thailand in Jan to sell her eggs,” said Bhosale in the FIR. However, she was unable to sell her eggs on the last visit due to medical reasons.The team seized data from the accused’s gadgets at their Thane office and was checking for other women sent abroad on fake marriage certificates.
