Illegal scan centre conducting sex determination test unearthed in Ludhiana
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
Following the directions of the Health Minister Punjab Balbir Singh Sidhu, drive is being conducted to bust the sex determination trade in the state so that the anti social elements indulging in the illegal business of female feticide can be completely eradicated. One such operation has recently conducted under the supervision of Director Health Services (Family Welfare) Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal in which a portable ultrasound machine recovered by exposing an unauthorized scan centre at Ludhiana.
Disclosing more about this operation, Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said that she got a tip off about a sex determination racket being run in Ludhiana. As soon as she received the information, a trap has laid by the team of Health Department headed by Civil Surgeon Gurdaspur Kisan Chand. A decoy patient was prepared and a deal was struck as demanded by the illegal scan centre. As per the deal, she was told to pay Rs. 15,000 for determining the sex of the fetus. The sum of rupees fifteen thousand were given to her and number mentioned on currency notes noted by the health department. As per the instruction given by the agent, a lady joined decoy patient in her car at Jalandhar bypass in Ludhiana and took her to Sai Clinic of Jamalpur area in Ludhiana. As soon as the doctor Rakesh Kumar started the ultrasonography to check the gender, the team conducted the raid at hospital and caught him red handed. They also recovered the currency notes from Dr. Rakesh Kumar, which matched with the number of notes given by the department. A portable ultrasound machine also recovered from centre and he (Dr. Rakesh Kumar) was not able to show any document regarding the registration of the ultrasound scan centre and moreover he was found flouting other mandatory provisions under the PNDT act. It has also come into light that no ID number of the patient was taken and no consent was recorded.
The team seized the portable ultrasound machine on the spot. Arriving on the spot, Jamalpur police has arrested the accused doctor in the presence of Civil Surgeon Ludhiana & booked him under relevant provisions of the PC & PNDT Act, IPC and CrPC.
Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal further said that such operations would be continued in future also and she appealed to the general public to come out against such evils and help the department to completely eradicate these anti social activities from the State to build free society based on equality.
May,21,2020
