Odisha: Sex determination centre busted; doc, 4 others arrested
CUTTACK: A special team of Health and Family Welfare department busted an illegal prenatal sex determination and ultrasound centre operating clandestinely from the house of a government doctor at Friends Colony here on Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, the team raided the house of Dr Punyashlok Das, posted at Deogarh district headquarters hospital, along with police in presence of sub-collector, Cuttack, Kamaljit Das. The raid led to seizure of several equipment including a portable ultrasound machine used for prenatal sex determination along with medicines for female foeticide and Rs 40,000 in cash, said sources.
Dr Das was allegedly carrying out illegal tests on three pregnant women when the team raided his house and caught him red-handed. The women confessed to have come to the clinic through brokers. Apart from Dr Das, four others including his wife Bismita and brokers, Bibhuti Sahoo of Muktapari in Dhenkanal, Debendra Behera of Balikuda in Jagatsinghpur and Soumya Ranjan Prusty of Kuakhai Balipatana in Cuttack were arrested. Another accused Mahendra Kumar Nayak of Shree Diagnostics at Ranihat is absconding.
In May last year, when he was posted at Chandanpur CHC in Puri, Dr Das was arrested and suspended for carrying out illegal tests on pregnant women to detect the gender of the foetus. After coming out of jail on bail and revocation of his suspension, he had rejoined duty but resumed the illegal practice at his residence.
Dr Das was running the illegal clinic with an unregistered portable ultrasound machine through a chain of brokers, said a member of the special team.