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Action against IVF clinic, call centre for promising male babies
Action was taken by a national monitoring team against an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic and its call centre in West Delhi for promising male babies to couples
Action was taken by a national monitoring team against an in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic and its call centre in West Delhi for promising male babies to couples and advertising it.
The National Inspection and Monitoring Committee (NIMC), a national-level body that monitors the implementation of the Pre Conception, Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PC-PNDT) Act, had received a complaint against the centre that had been advertising the procedure online.
“This is the first time action has been taken against an IVF clinic in Delhi under the act. So far, most instances of violations were reported from diagnostic centres performing ultrasound,” said Nitin Kumar, Delhi’s state programme officer (PC-PNDT).
The act helps in preventing sex-selective abortions to improve the sex ratio. In Delhi, 913 girl children are born for every 1000 boys.
After enquiring with the call centre number provided on the website, the inspection team went as customers. The ‘relationship officer’ explained that sex selection was against the law in India and so the clients would be taken to Dubai, Thailand, or Singapore after registration.
A registration fee of R 10,000 was charged from the officers and a package rate of R 8.5 lakh was offered for a male baby through IVF in Dubai.
“This is a big racket where people are taken to other countries for sex-selective pregnancies. However, we can take action against the centre because the PC PNDT act prohibits any kind of assistance for sex selection in the country and advertising about it,” Kumar said.
The registration of the IVF clinic located in Kirti Nagar was suspended and two ultrasound machines were sealed. The authorities took two laptops, a hard disk, two genetic testing kits, and patient records.
Another team that raided the call centre in Karol Bagh found about 200 to 300 people working there. The owner of the call centre was an IIT graduate, who, according to the government, was the brain child of the operation.
The call centre had been running for about two years without any display or signage, according to the state PC PNDT department. Letterheads, bills and receipt booklets from IVF specialists, and training module for answering queries. “According to the employees, nearly six lakh people have been helped by the service,” said Kumar.
“The involvement of the call centre is crucial. They are able to link lakhs of people to the services in other countries. This is a criminal collusion. We have a positive decision in case of search engines like Google and Yahoo! allowing such advertisements, but these services are used by fewer people. A call centre service can be used by everyone even from tier two and three cities,” said Sabu George, an activist who has been working to prevent female foeticide for over three decades.
Mandeep Singh Randhawa, deputy commissioner of police (central district), said a case had been registered at Karol Bagh police station on the complaint of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Karol Bagh. The officer said the case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several people with a common intention) and under multiple sections of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.
