Birmingham, Jul 4 (PTI): Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj took six wickets, while Akash Deep bagged four as India took a first-innings lead of 180 runs by dismissing England for 407 after a strong fight back by their middle-order batters Harry Brook and Jamie Smith on day three of the second Test here on Friday.

At close on day 3, India were 64 for 1 in the second innings -- an overall lead of 244 runs -- with KL Rahul (28 batting) and Karun Nair (7 batting) at the crease. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the only batsman to get out on 28 runs.

Siraj (6/70) struck vital blows in the morning session, dismissing Joe Root (22) and Ben Stokes (0), while Akash Deep (4/88) broke a 303-run partnership between Brook (158) and Smith (184 not out) by getting rid of the former in the post-tea session.

Akash then sent back Chris Woakes for 5 runs to reduce England 395/7, before Siraj wiped out the tail, dismissing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir for ducks.

Brief Score:

India 1st innings: 587 all out & 64 for 1 in 13 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 28, KL Rahul 28 batting).

England 1st innings: 407 all out in 89.3 overs (Jamie Smith 184 not out, Harry Brook 158; M Siraj 6/70, Akash Deep 4/88).

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Thane (PTI): Police have unearthed an egg-donation racket, suspected to be involving crores of rupees, that repeatedly exploited vulnerable women in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said.

The victims were offered Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per cycle and repeatedly used as egg donors, resulting in physical exploitation. They were taken to IVF centres where the eggs were surgically extracted and sold for lakhs, they said, adding that so far, 20 women are believed to have fallen prey to the racket.

Three women have been arrested in connection with the illegal trade operating out of a residential apartment and a sonography centre at Joveli in Badlapur East, the police officials said on Saturday.

Egg donation is a fertility procedure where a woman provides eggs for another person to conceive, usually via IVF (in vitro fertilisation). The donor undergoes screening and hormone treatment, eggs are retrieved, fertilised, and transferred to the recipient.

The arrested persons have been identified as Sulakshana Gadekar (44), Ashwini Chabukswar (29), and Manjusha Wankhede (46).

Following a tip-off from a victim to Thane Sub-District Hospital's Chief Medical Officer Dr Jyotsna Sawant, a raid was recently conducted at Gadekar’s residence in Nano City building, the police said.

“We recovered photos of injections used in connection with pregnancy, sonography reports, affidavits with false names, fake documents, and evidence of financial transactions on the mobile phones of the accused,” a police official said.

The accused targeted needy women, paying them Rs 25,000 to 30,000 per cycle. The victims were allegedly administered hormonal injections to increase egg production and were repeatedly used as donors, leading to physical exploitation, the official said.

“The process involved injecting the women to stimulate egg production and taking them for sonography. Once the eggs were ready, the victims were sent to IVF centres where the eggs were surgically extracted and sold for lakhs of rupees,” the official added.

Ulhasnagar Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Gore said that more than 20 women might have fallen victim to this racket so far.

“The racket was previously operating in Vangani before shifting to Badlapur recently. We are investigating the involvement of IVF centres, doctors, and hospitals. High-profile names are likely to surface as the turnover of this illegal trade is estimated to be in crores,” Gore said.

A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, the police added.