NAMAKKAL: Two women have been arrested near Rasipuram for allegedly running an illegal fetal sex-determination racket using a portable ultrasound device.
They were caught following a joint raid conducted by health officials and the police following a tip-off that a group was charging expectant mothers to reveal the gender of their unborn babies — an offence prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.
Acting on the information, a team of medical authorities, along with Namagiripettai police, conducted a surprise inspection at a house in the Rasipuram area.
During the raid, officials found a portable ultrasound machine being used to conduct sex-determination scans. Police seized the device, along with tablets and other equipment allegedly used in the operation. Two women involved in the activity were immediately detained.
According to investigators, the women — Kalaimani (46) and Poomani (45), both residents of Attur region, — visited pregnant women and charged Rs 25,000 per scan. Police said one of the suspects had earlier worked as a head nurse at a primary health centre and had been arrested in February in a similar case, after which she was dismissed from service.
Both women were arrested by the Namagiripettai police and later remanded in judicial custody. Further investigation is under way.