Acting on a complaint registered by the civil surgeon of Pune district, the Jejuri police have booked a doctor and two others under various sections of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostics (PCPNDT) Act and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act after it came to light that an expecting mother underwent illegal sex determination and termination of pregnancy at the accused doctor’s hospital in Purandar on Saturday.
The accused have been identified as Dr Sachin Ramchandra Ranavre, a resident of Nira village in Purandar; Deepali Thopate, a resident of Pisurti in Purandar; and one Barkade who acted as the middleman. The trio have been booked under sections: 312 (voluntarily causing a woman to miscarry); 315 (act carried out with the intent to prevent a child from being born alive or to cause it to die after birth); 316 (causing the death of an unborn child by act amounting to culpable homicide); 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years by parent or person having care of it); 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body); and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to the Jejuri police.
On May 12, the state health department had emailed to Dr Nagnath Yempalay, civil surgeon of Pune district, a complaint about an illegal- sex determination and termination of pregnancy racket in Purandar. The complaint stated that middleman Barkade was carrying out illegal sex determination of the unborn children of expecting mothers in Purandar. In the event the unborn child was determined to be of the female sex, the mother carrying that child was referred to Dr Ranavre’s Shriram Hospital and other such hospitals in Purandar. As per the complaint, one such mother, Deepali Thopate - who already had a daughter and whose second (unborn) child was (illegally) determined to be of the female sex – was scheduled for admission to Shriram Hospital on Sunday, May 14, for termination of her pregnancy. The complaint emailed to Dr Yempalay further stated, “The termination of pregnancy will be carried out at 8 am by Dr Ranavre. It is an illegal abortion. Conduct an investigation and file a report within 24 hours.”
{{/usCountry}}On May 12, the state health department had emailed to Dr Nagnath Yempalay, civil surgeon of Pune district, a complaint about an illegal- sex determination and termination of pregnancy racket in Purandar. The complaint stated that middleman Barkade was carrying out illegal sex determination of the unborn children of expecting mothers in Purandar. In the event the unborn child was determined to be of the female sex, the mother carrying that child was referred to Dr Ranavre’s Shriram Hospital and other such hospitals in Purandar. As per the complaint, one such mother, Deepali Thopate - who already had a daughter and whose second (unborn) child was (illegally) determined to be of the female sex – was scheduled for admission to Shriram Hospital on Sunday, May 14, for termination of her pregnancy. The complaint emailed to Dr Yempalay further stated, “The termination of pregnancy will be carried out at 8 am by Dr Ranavre. It is an illegal abortion. Conduct an investigation and file a report within 24 hours.”
{{/usCountry}}Taking cognisance of the email, Dr Yempalay, who is also in charge of implementation of the PCPNDT and MTP Acts, visited Shriram Hospital along with his team on Sunday, May 14. Dr Ranavre was present during the investigation that followed. Dr Yempalay said, “We checked the records at the hospital as per the MTP and PCPNDT Acts. There were no details about the patient, Deepali Thopate. When asked, Dr Ranavre said he did not know any patient by that name. However, when contacted, Deepali Thopate confirmed that the abortion was carried out by Dr Ranavre on Saturday.”
Dr Yempalay further said, “The abortion had already been carried out at Shriram Hospital on Saturday, May 13. The patient had been admitted Saturday night and was discharged early morning Monday. We confronted Dr Ranavre and asked him for documents from the indoor patients’ department. The documents included Deepali Thopate’s incomplete case papers with her husband’s signature. However, there was no entry in the register.”
Umesh Tavaskar, police inspector attached to the Jejuri police station, said, “Based on the complaint by health department officials, the accused have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC. The investigation is underway and no arrests have been made yet.”