CUTTACK: Continuing the investigation into illegal sex determination tests being carried out by private diagnostic centers in Cuttack, Commissionerate police on Sunday arrested one Manas Panda who had allegedly supplied an ultrasound machine to Prasanna Sahoo, owner of Alfa Health Care and Diagnostic Center.
Panda is a native of Jajpur. Police informed that he was staying in a rented accommodation at Netaji Nagar in Cuttack and used to supply medical equipment to diagnostic centers and nursing homes in Cuttack. He had supplied a second-hand ultrasound machine to Prasanna at the cost of Rs 3.5 lakh.
During interrogation, Panda informed that he has been procuring medical equipment from Ranchi and supplying them in Cuttack for the last 10 years. A police team will visit Ranchi to verify information provided by Panda, informed ACP Ajay Das.
On Monday last, police had sealed Alfa Healthcare and Diagnostic Center and arrested its owner Prasanna and his assistant Basant Kumar Bardhan for carrying out sex determination tests. The diagnostic centre was running without registration for the last six months at Kathagola Sahi.
Prasanna, a Plus Two pass-out, used to conduct at least 15 to 20 sex determination tests per day, and for each such test, he charged Rs 5,000. Along with Prasanna and Basant, police had also arrested two brokers Santosh Kumar Lenka of Poparada in Tangi and Hrusikesh Sahoo of Bari Daragha in Jajpur.
They were acting as middlemen for Prasanna and used to identify and send pregnant women to his diagnostic center for sex determination. Under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, sex determination is illegal.