Vadodara: Rajasthan police and Banswara health officials caught two doctors in Santrampur town of Mahisagar district for conducting sex determination tests.
The doctors - Dr Z B Padariya and Dr Bharat Patel - were nabbed after the Rajasthan officials conducted a sting operation using decoys to bust the racket. They had specific information about doctors performing sex determination of foetuses. This is the second sting operation by the Rajasthan officials within two months to nab doctors from the district.
The officials sent the decoys to the hospitals of Dr Padariya and Dr Patel who conducted sonographies on them and identified the sex of the foetus for them. The decoys along with persons accompanying them signalled to the officials who swooped on the doctors and took them in custody for violation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.
On January 30, a nurse who was allegedly an agent of the Bhagat Hospital in Lunawada where sex determination was to be done was contacted by officials in Banswara. The team sent a pregnant woman and others to the hospital run by Dr Mayur Bhagat through the nurse. The doctor allegedly agreed to do sex determination of the foetus and completed the procedure. Bhagat was detained and taken to Banswara.
Mahisagar chief district health officer Dr S B Shah said that the department had sought details regarding the incident. He added that the state government will be informed about the incident and further action will be taken. Registrations of the hospitals are likely to be cancelled and their sonography machines sealed.
What has raised eyebrows is the fact that despite the case in January, sex determination was conducted again in the district and local officers have been caught unawares.
The hospital where the doctor performed sonographies to identify the sex of the foetus
