In a fresh development in the Guwahati child abuse case, the authorities of Dispur Polyclinic and Nursing Home on Monday revealed how Utpala Bose, the now arrested personal assistant of the accused doctor Sangeeta Datta had introduced them to the surrogate mothers who came for IVF treatment in the hospital.
The counselor of the IVF clinic, Kankan Sarmah, said that Utpala Bose was engaged with the polyclinic since 2017.
Explaining about the surrogacy process, Sarma said, “Surrogacy is a legal and scientific approach under IVF treatment and when the childless couples, after repeatedly failing to conceive through IVF treatment or unable to conceive due to physical health issues, then surrogacy is an option. For the surrogacy process, the genetic couple (childless couple) and a surrogate mother are required. And to coordinate between the genetic couple and the surrogate mother, a patient coordinator is required. Utpala Bose played the role of a coordinator for patients opting for surrogacy. She is not only the patient coordinator in our IVF centre but also of all the IVF centres in Guwahati.”
“Her role is to bring a woman willing to be a surrogate mother to the hospital and introduce them to the childless couples. After several tests and legal documentation, the surrogacy process is conducted inside the hospital," he added.
He further said, "Before the ‘altruistic surrogacy’ law passed in 2021, commercial surrogacy was done legally in IVF centres. Right after the law was passed, we stopped commercial surrogacy at our centre."
It may be mentioned that Dr. Sangeeta Datta, who is a renowned psychiatrist, and her husband have been accused of abusing their adopted children both physically and sexually.
The personal assistant of Dr. Sangeeta Datta, Utpala Bose, was arrested on May 12, after she was reportedly on the run. She was suspected to be the person behind arranging the children for the doctor couple Sangeeta Datta and Waliul Islam. As per sources, Utpala was absconding for three days and later surrendered herself at the Panbazar Police Station.
