ERODE: Police on Thursday arrested three people, including the mother of a 16-year-old girl for allegedly forcing the minor to donate her embryo for surrogacy.
The arrested - Syed Ali, 40, Indirani alias Sumaiya, 33, and Malathi, 30, of Erode town - have been sent to jail. Erode south police inspector P Vijaya said Indirani had separated from her husband Saravanan when their daughter was three and later married Syed Ali before changing her name to Sumaiya. Sumaiya, who used to donate her embryo at a private fertility centre along with Malathi, "decided to involve her daughter in the act after she attained puberty," the inspector said, adding that "Syed Ali sexually harassed the girl on several occasions."
"The trio forced the girl to donate her embryo eight times at a private fertility hospital in Erode," Vijaya said, adding that Sumaiya received 20,000 and Malathi 5,000 as commission on each occasion. On May 20, the girl managed to escape from her house and fled to the Salem house of a relative who lodged a complaint with the Erode south police on Thursday.
