Police take lady doctor, nurse on remand

JAGATSINGHPUR: Raghunathpur police on Thursday took three persons, including a lady doctor of a private clinic, on three-day remand for interrogation in connection with the recovery of a girl’s body in an iron trunk from Dhartangada forest last year.

The trio was identified as Dr Haramani Moharana, nurse of the private clinic Hemala Behera and auto-rickshaw driver Abhimanyu Barik. These three, including two others, were arrested for their involvement in a botched abortion which led to the death of a 22-year-old girl on February 12.Sources said police will also interrogate the trio about the number of abortions carried out at the clinic and the spot where foetuses were disposed of.

On February 17, police had arrested Moharana, Behera, another nurse of Mamata clinic Lipika Mohanty, Barik and father of the victim girl Ajaya Sutar in connection with the death of Siku Sutar of Anolipatana village in Kujang. As Siku bled to death after the illegal abortion, Moharana and the nurses instructed Ajay to dispose of his daughter’s body in the forest. The girl’s body was found packed in a gunny bag from Mundal village near Dhartangada forest on February 13.

After their arrest, Raghunathpur IIC Ranjan Mallick had sought remand of the three accused before court to unearth the mystery behind recovery of a girl’s body in an iron trunk in March last year. Sources said police will also question the doctor and nurse about Siku’s foetus.

Moreover, it has also been found that the lady doctor was carrying out female foeticide and illegal abortion without having Medical Termination Pregnancy (MTP) registration certificate. Though her clinic was sealed in July 2015, Moharana managed to obtain permission from the Orissa High Court to use one of the rooms in the clinic for her maintenance. However, she used the room to carry out illegal abortion.

Sources said though 11 months have passed since the decomposed body of a girl was found in an iron trunk from the forest, police are yet to identify the deceased. Suspecting involvement of the three accused in the incident, police would grill them to make a breakthrough in the case.