Rajpura civil hospital employee, aide held for running sex test centre

The duo was running the illegal sex determination test centre from a secluded room on Rajpura civil hospital premises

A Haryana health department team has busted an illegal sex determination centre being run by an employee at the Rajpura civil hospital in Punjab’s Patiala district.

A case has been registered under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

The accused has been identified as Ram Kumar Murthy, a Class-4 employee at the hospital. One of his accomplices has also been arrested.

In a joint operation with their Patiala district counterparts, a Karnal health department team sent a decoy patient — pregnant woman — to the hospital along with ₹25,000 to pay to Ram Kumar for the test. He was arrested red-handed during a raid.

Rajpura senior medical officer Jagpalinder Singh said the team also seized a portable ultrasound machine from Ram Kumar and his aide’s possession. “They were running the centre from a secluded room on the hospital premises. We have initiated an inquiry into the matter,” he said.

A case has been registered under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act of 1994.