Most calls for sex determination came from Pune hospitals: panel

The panel of experts and Satara police probing the calls records of booked doctors and agents after the sex determination racket was busted in Satara on Sunday found that most of the calls were received from Pune-based hospitals. Meanwhile, the local doctors whose names have appeared in the racket are on the run.

Acting on a tip-off from a Pune-based couple about Satara-based ‘doctors’ performing sonography accordingly, vigilance officers from Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act cell in Pune comprising Dr Yamini Adbe, Dr BM Vaidya and former director general of police C Kumbhar allegedly caught red-handed Dilip Rajage, an electro homeopath and ‘agent’ Arun Sawant from Satara were allegedly caught red-handed on Saturday midnight

On Monday, the cell members Dr Adbe, Dr Vaidya and Kumbhar visited the Dehu Road-based gynaecology hospital where Dr Yashwant Satpute working with the hospital had allegedly suggested the couple to conduct the sex determination test.

During an interrogation with the superior, another name from the same hospital has also cropped up. The police have recovered Rs20,000 from the house of Sawant’s relative where he was hiding after the raid.

The team’s probe has revealed that the sonography machine used by the suspects were meant for animals. These machines are generally allocated to government veterinary hospitals.

About the Act
Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 is a federal legislation enacted by the Parliament of India to stop female foeticides and arrest the declining sex ratio in India. The act banned prenatal sex determination