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Illegal sex determination racket busted in Kolhapur; doctor, agent held
Kolhapur police have arrested a doctor and an agent for running an illegal sex determination racket, seizing cash and medical equipment during a raid.
The Kolhapur police have busted an alleged illegal sex determination racket operating at a private facility in Bidri village of Kagal taluka and arrested a doctor and his agent, officials said on Tuesday.
The raid was conducted at Shraddha Hospital in Bidri at around 9pm on Monday .
Acting on complaints that some medical practitioners in the district were allegedly conducting illegal prenatal sex determination tests and facilitating female foeticide, superintendent of police Yogesh Kumar ordered a probe into the matter. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by assistant inspector Kranti Patil raided Shraddha Hospital using a decoy pregnant woman.
According to the police, an agent identified as Sambhaji Vasant Shinde, 45, of Borwade in Kagal taluka, allegedly contacted the decoy and claimed he could arrange sex determination through Dr Yuvraj Patil for ₹22,000.
The decoy, a four-month pregnant woman, was sent to the hospital as a fake client.
Police said that after the alleged illegal sonography test was conducted and the agent accepted ₹22,000, the raiding team swooped in at around 9 pm on March 23 and apprehended the accused.
Police seized a portable sonography machine, abortion-related medicines, gel bottles, medical registration certificates, two tablet devices, OPD and billing registers, three mobile phones, and ₹12.30 lakh in cash. A Toyota Fortuner vehicle was also confiscated.
Kumar said, “Dr Patil has been previously booked in similar cases at Radhanagari and Bhudargad police stations, and a private complaint is also pending before a Kagal court.”
The Ispurli police have filed an FIR under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.
