Feticide racket offered abortions at home

Time of India

3 days ago

A
hmedabad: In Gujarat, which battles a deeply skewed child sex ratio, the latest revelation in the female feticide racket busted in Bavla, Ahmedabad has shocked investigators.
In what is probably the first such case reported in the state,
sex determination tests
and abortions were not just done discreetly in clinics or guesthouses but were allegedly carried out at patients' homes. Police say at least five such procedures took place in Ahmedabad and nearby towns. The accused — who are currently in police custody — offered the service for Rs 15,000 per case. The racket, unearthed earlier this month, was run by nurse Hemlata Darji and radiologist Harshad Acharya, who operated across Ahmedabad, Anand and Vadodara, said police officers.
According to Ahmedabad Rural police, the duo conducted 25 sex determination tests at Acharya's clinic, Ashirwad Imaging Centre in Odhav. Of these, eight fetuses were, allegedly, female. "Three abortions were done at a Bavla guesthouse, and five were allegedly carried out at patients' homes," said police.
"This was not a fly-by-night operation. It was a calculated setup: quiet, mobile, and tailored for secrecy," said a senior Ahmedabad Rural police officer.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
"Patients did not even have to step into a clinic. The team came to them, called a lab courier for blood tests and carried out the abortion there itself."
Police said that if a patient experienced heavy bleeding during the abortion, Darji used medicines she allegedly stole from a private hospital where she previously worked. Acharya's main role, so far, was to determine the sex of the fetus.
In a state where the child sex ratio has dropped to a worrying 890 girls per 1,000 boys according to the 2011 census, and where sex determination is banned by law, this deeply disturbing trend shows how entrenched is the demand to figure out the sex of the child.
Despite decades of awareness campaigns, nothing seems to have really changed. Stricter laws have just driven the entire network underground to cater to families unwilling to have daughters.
The investigation revealed that Acharya began this activity about one and a half years ago. "He would charge Rs 15,000 and give Rs 7,000 to Darji per case," said police.
The communication between clients and the accused was cloaked in code.
"If Acharya smiled and said 'aashirwad (blessings)', it meant the fetus was male. If he said 'theek thai jashe (everything will be alright)' with a serious expression, it indicated a girl," the officer said.
The Ahmedabad Rural police officer said, "They chose clients carefully, mostly through close contacts."
The accused told police they could not recall the names of the women who underwent the procedures. "They only remember the houses where the sex determination and subsequent abortions were carried out," said a police officer, adding: "The clients who used the abortion service will also be treated as accused in the case.
We are also checking if any abortion was carried out beyond the 24-week legal limit."
Darji was the first to be arrested from a Bavla guesthouse last week while performing an abortion without valid medical qualifications. Acharya was arrested the next day. Both face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.