Health dept shuts down 23 illegal diagnostic centres in Mysuru

The shut downs were done citing the absence of necessary documents, permissions, and a failure to provide requested information as reasons, an official said.

The Mysuru health department has shut down at least 23 illegal diagnostic centres, a senior official familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

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The shut downs were done citing the absence of necessary documents, permissions, and a failure to provide requested information as reasons, the official said.

“A total of 23 diagnostic centres now face closure due to a range of irregularities and not following the prescribed rules outlined in the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act,” Mysuru district health officer PC Kumaraswamy said.

The ongoing crackdown by the health department, the officials have also been examining whether these centres were engaged in other illicit activities, including foetal sex detection and illegal abortions, people familiar with the matter said.

During a recent raid on two diagnostic centres in Mysuru, officials discovered that both centres had deleted recorded data from their systems, officials privy to the matter said.

Meanwhile, the state government has handed over the female foeticide investigation to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), signalling an ongoing and comprehensive probe into the matter.

The state health department has also announced a cash reward of ₹1 lakh to the informers who provide credible information about ongoing foetal sex detection in any hospital across the state, officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The development came as the government intensified its efforts to tackle female foeticide in the state.

To facilitate public involvement, the health department has established a helpline at 080-25202264/65, urging citizens to report instances of illegal sex determination at any hospital.

The initiative aims to curb the alarming decline in the female-to-male ratio, state health minister Dinesh Gundurao said. “Last year there were 947 women per 1,000 men. This year there are 929. The number of women has decreased,” he said.

Last month, Bengaluru Police arrested a doctor and his lab technician who have allegedly performed around 900 illegal abortions in the last three years, officials said on Monday. Dr Chandan Ballal and his lab technician Nisar allegedly charged around ₹30,000 for each abortion which they carried out at a hospital in the district headquarters town of Mysuru. Both of them were taken into custody last week, they said.

Police busted the sex-determination and female foeticide racket with the arrest of two accused -- Shivalinge Gowda and Nayan Kumar — in the district headquarters town of Mandya, near Mysuru, when they were taking a pregnant woman for abortion in a car in October.

During interrogation, the two accused revealed a jaggery unit in Mandya, used as an ultrasound scan centre, from where a police team later seized the scan machine in October, which did not have a valid authorisation or other official documents, a senior police officer said.