KRISHNAGIRI: A 55-year-old woman from Kaveripattinam was arrested on Saturday for her alleged involvement in female foeticide in Krishnagiri. The arrest also brought to light an illegal scan centre operating in Tirupattur, which antenatal mothers approach before being directed to the accused person, identified as P Umarani.
Krishnagiri Deputy Director of Health Services G Ramesh Kumar said, “Acting on a tip-off from Krishnagiri collectorate, a team of officials from the health, revenue, and police departments visited Kaveripattinam on Thursday night. They found out that Umarani was allegedly involved in sex-selective abortion for over 10 years and operated from the residence of Rani. The officials also seized pills and other drugs.”
Following this, a complaint was filed against Umarani by Barur Block Medical Officer R Thamaraiselvi. The investigating team also discovered that a 28- year-old woman from Sowthalli village near Kaveripattinam had approached Umarani for abortion and spent Rs 28,500 for the same. She was then admitted to the Kaveripattinam Community Health Centre.
The officials also came across a 22-year-old woman from Karimangalam in Dharmapuri district, who was waiting at Umarani’s residence. She said that she had taken MTP pills given by the accused on Thursday evening, and was eventually referred to the Government Krishnagiri Medical College Hospital.
On Saturday evening, the aborted foetus was removed. The illegal scan centre in Tirupattur closed After inquiring from both women, the health officials found that sex of the foetus in both cases was identified in Tirupattur district. On Friday, a team led by Ramesh Kumar and other officials from Kelamangalam block took the help of an antenatal mother from Denkanikottai taluk. A doctor posed as her husband and a village health nurse as her sister.
A team member involved in the operation told TNIE, “After reaching Tirupattur, we contacted the given number, who asked us to take a Thiruvannamalai-bound bus and deboard at Visamangalam village. The antenatal mother from Denkanikottai was then sent in an autorickshaw, which already had four other antenatal mothers. The autorickshaw driver asked the woman not to carry any bags. The contact woman was given a phone to track her location. The auto halted in a mango grove in Pernambut village.
Krishnagiri collector shared details about the live location with his Tirupattur counterpart D Baskara Pandian, who intimated Superintendent of Police Albert John, who deployed a police team to the spot.”
Meanwhile, the contact person handed over RS 11,000 to a broker at the illegal scan centre, which operated out of a house.
Four persons were arrested on Sunday in connection with the racket. They were identified as Vediyappan (broker), Sugumar (technician), Siva (handles scan machine), and Vijay. They were booked under Sections 419 and 420 of the IPC, and Section 15 (3) of the Indian Medical Council Act. A broker, Shankar, was arrested on Friday, informed Tirupattur police.
Krishnagiri Collector Sarayu told TNIE that Goondas Act will be invoked against Umarani. Ramesh added that Umarani, a school dropout, had been involved in the abortion of around four babies a day for the past eight months, taking the total count to over 800 babies. He noted the declining sex ratio in Krishnagiri district (from 940 in 2022, to 886 on 2023), and said that the crackdown on sex-selective abortion and other quacks will continue.
Krishnagiri SP Saroj Kumar Thakur told TNIE, “A block-level committee will be formed soon. Further, an awareness drive will be conducted among the autorickshaw drivers in a bid to refrain them from indulging in such activities.”