In a shocking incident, as many as 19 aborted female foetuses were found dumped near a stream at Mhaisal village in Sangli district of Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra government has announced a probe into the incident even as the Sangli Police is investigating the matter.
“So far we have found the remains of 19 female foetuses,” Sangli Superintendent of Police, Dattatray Shinde, said, adding that the death of a 26-year-old pregnant woman, Swati Jamdade, on February 28 blew the lid off an illegal pregnancy termination racket.
The woman had died during an abortion at the Bharti Hospital owned by Dr Babasaheb Khidrapure in the village.
Dr Khidrapure holds a bachelor’s degree in homoeopathy and is on the run. The woman’s husband, Praveen Jamdade, had taken her for the abortion. Her father, Sunil Jadhav, told the police that Praveen had called him and expressed his willingness to abort the female foetus.
Even though he objected, the woman’s husband took him to the hospital, where she died of complications during the abortion. The couple have two daughters.
When villagers and relatives of the woman found inconsistency in versions, they lodged a complaint with the police and during interrogation Praveen revealed that his wife died during the abortion.
In Mumbai, Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde said that it is a heinous crime and the matter is extremely serious.
“The issue of saving the girl child needs the support of parents...they should be motivated to support their children irrespective of the gender,” she said, adding that the government has asked three officials from Sangli and two from Pune to investigate the matter and submit a report on Monday.
