HYDERABAD: Decoy operations, undercover agents and spies usually take us to a world of crime fiction or TV programmes which bring into lives characters living life on the edge every day.
What we fail to see that even in our own cities, such missions are carried out regularly. In May this year, a pregnant constable, from SHE Teams attached to Rachakonda Police Commissionerate, was the face of a decoy operation that helped nab two doctors who were conducting illegal sex determination tests.
Working with additional DCP SK Saleema, P Shobha (name changed) posed as a regular patient to bring the doctors to book.
“I have been part of such operations before, but I was not pregnant at that time. After we received a tip-off about the tests being conducted at Life Care Hospital in Uppal, it was decided that I would initiate the process,” said Shobha, who joined the police force in 2014.The constable made the first move in February when she was three months pregnant.
“It was an inconspicuous three-floored building at Uppal junction. It did not have many patients. I went for my first check-up and Dr Shravani confirmed that I was pregnant. She then prescribed a few medicines and asked if I had other children. Though my first-born is a son, I told her that I was the mother of a daughter. She took in the details and asked me to go again the next month. During my check-up in March, she asked me casually if I wanted to know the sex of my unborn child,” recalled the cop. This is how the negotiations went:
Doctor: We can pre-determine the sex of your baby through a simple scan. It will cost `15,000. Would you like to do it?
Shobha: Sure.
Doctor: Do you want to abort the child if it is a girl?
Shobha: I would like to discuss this with my husband.
Doctor: Sure. The abortion costs `30,000. Come back in May and I will tell you the sex of your child.
Shobha: Okay.
After she received an appointment in May, Shobha passed on the information to additional DCP Saleema, who started preparing for a raid. On May 4, Shobha, along with another constable who played her husband, reached the hospital and handed over `15,000 to Dr Shravani. A five-member team waited outside, ready to barge in as soon as they received a signal.
“I was taken to the third floor where a scan machine had been installed to perform sex determination tests exclusively. After mine was done in 10 minutes, I was told that I was carrying a girl. The doctor once again extended her offer to abort the child. They had scanned five women before me. The ones who were carrying girls were told to wait. The others with boys were told to go,” shared the SHE team member.
This portion of the hospital was hidden on the third floor and only a few chosen ones were being brought there. Saying that she would have to step out to arrange the cash, Shobha told her ‘husband’ to alert the SHE team waiting outside. In 15 minutes, two doctors were in police custody.
Shobha, who lost her father early in life, joined the police force because of her need for security. Even after she joined MCom course, she did not give up on her dream and became part of the force.
Repeat offender
Interestingly, the same doctor had been nabbed before. “Dr Shravani was booked two years ago for the same crime by our Special Task Force. But she resumed the illegal activities after she got a bail. This one was a case where a doctor was directly involved. In others, there are middlemen like lab technicians and pharmacists who direct the women after taking a bribe,” said additional DCP Saleema.
Saving girl child
Cases of illegal sex determination of unborn children are booked under Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prevention and Regulation of Misuse) (PNDT)Act. Between 2018 and 2020, Rachakonda police booked six such cases.