On the run for over three weeks after being booked for allegedly seeking ₹20,000 for aborting a female foetus, Dr Poonam Bhargav, a gynaecologist at the Panchkula civil hospital, was arrested on Friday.
Officials privy to the investigation said the doctor was living at the flat of one of her acquaintances in a group housing society in Zirakpur. Sources said Bhargav had called one of her relatives after which the special investigation team (SIT) traced her location and nabbed her.
As per the information, the doctor did not cooperate with the SIT and also refused to disclose anything about her phone. She was taken to the Women Police Station in Sector 5, Panchkula, and will be produced before a local court on Saturday.
The arrest comes a day after Bhargav had moved an anticipatory bail plea before the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Meanwhile, Bhargav’s peon, a co-accused in the case, is still on the run.
Bhargav was suspended by Haryana health minister Anil Vij after a video had surfaced in which she could be seen striking an alleged deal for aborting a female foetus for ₹20,000. On February 20, the Panchkula civil surgeon had received video clippings of the deal from two Patiala men — Amandeep Singh and Vinay Arora. An FIR was registered at the Sector 5 police station on February 25 after the hospital’s internal inquiry committee indicted Bhargav and Kaur. The inquiry report stated that Bhargav had confessed to have taken ₹8,000 advance for the abortion.
{{/usCountry}}Bhargav was suspended by Haryana health minister Anil Vij after a video had surfaced in which she could be seen striking an alleged deal for aborting a female foetus for ₹20,000. On February 20, the Panchkula civil surgeon had received video clippings of the deal from two Patiala men — Amandeep Singh and Vinay Arora. An FIR was registered at the Sector 5 police station on February 25 after the hospital’s internal inquiry committee indicted Bhargav and Kaur. The inquiry report stated that Bhargav had confessed to have taken ₹8,000 advance for the abortion.
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