COIMBATORE: The State Health Department initiated a probe and notices were sent to two hospitals in Erode on Friday, a day after police arrested three people, including the mother of a 16-year-old girl, on the charge of allowing her lover to sexually assault the victim for five years and selling her embryos for surrogacy to private hospitals.
The incident came to light when the girl escaped from captivity and lodged a police complaint.
Based on the instructions of SP V Sasi Mohan, Erode South Police have registered a case and on Thursday arrested the mother (38), her paramour (40) from Soorampatty Valasu, and agent K Malathi (30) from Kaikatti Valasu.
On Friday, A John (25) of Soorampatty Valasu, who helped the accused tamper with the victim's Aadhaar credentials, was arrested. All four were charged under several sections of the POCSO Act, IPC and Aadhaar Act.
According to police, the girl's mother who got separated from her husband used to take her daughter to sell embryo to several private fertility centres. "The woman allowed her paramour to sexually assault the girl after she attained puberty at the age of 12 in 2017 so that an embryo could form in her uterus. Helped by an agent, the two sold embryos to various hospitals in Erode, Salem, Perundurai and Hosur. To avoid age-related legal issues, they created Aadhaar card mentioning the girl's age as 22. The accused earned Rs 20,000 through each sale and the agent, Malathi, got Rs 5,000 as commission," police said.
Police said the accused had sold embryos eight times so far and was threatening the girl not to reveal it to others. Unable to bear the sexual abuse, the girl escaped from home on May 20 and went to her relative's house in Salem. But the accused went there too and asked her to cooperate with them.
The girl lodged a police complaint with help from a few relatives. "Two hospitals, where the alleged malpractice had taken place, have been summoned for inquiry," a senior police officer said on Friday.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, "Based on Health Minister Ma Subramanian's direction, an inquiry has been ordered. The Director of Medical and Rural Health Services has been told to visit the hospitals named in the case and hold inquiry immediately. Upon receiving the report, we will take action against those who have a role in this issue."