Gurgaon: Doctor, five held for running prenatal sex-determination racket

A team of health department and Gurgaon police nabbed six people, including a doctor and three agents, who are part of an alleged inter-state prenatal sex determination racket, during a search in Delhi on Saturday.

A team of health department and Gurgaon police nabbed six people, including a doctor and three agents, who are part of an alleged inter-state prenatal sex determination racket, during a search in Delhi on Saturday.

The team laid a trap with one of the members posing as a client who wanted to undergo a prenatal sex-determination test. (HTPhoto)

Dr Virender Kumar Mutreja, who ran the racket allegedly from his clinic -- Vishank Diagnostocs Centre -- at Central Market in Dwarka Sector 12, has been admitted to a hospital after he complained of chest pain while being handed over to police. He, however, confessed to the crime in a written statement to the police. The team also sealed three ultrasound machines that were used for prenatal sex-determination tests from the Dwarka clinic.

Based on a tip off, Gurgaon district appropriate authority cum civil surgeon Dr Ramesh Dhankahar formed a health department team comprising deputy civil surgeon Dr Sariyu Sharma, drug control officer Amandeep Chauhan and medical officer Dr Vikas Khatri on Saturday. Upon request, a police team comprising sub-inspector Vinod Kumar, head constable Parambir Singh and a woman official from the deputy commissioner of police (South West, Delhi) office assisted the health department team in the search.

The team laid a trap with one of the members posing as a client who wanted to undergo a prenatal sex-determination test. One of the accused, Rakesh Gulia, asked them to reach Sikanderpur village with `24,000. As directed by Naresh, the team travelled through Manesar-Gurgaon-Jhajjar-Najafgarh to reach Dwarka Sector 12 where the clinic was operational.

At the clinic, the team caught the doctor red-handed while accepting money from the imposter patient. The health department team handed over the doctor, agents Rakesh, Pawan and Mukesh to the police. A patient who was at the clinic for the test and her mother-in-law were also arrested.

“An FIR to this effect was lodged against the six accused at Dwarka North police station under different sections of the Pre–Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex-Selection) Act, 1994,” Amandeep Chuahan, Gurgaon drug controller officer said. Two more accused are at large, he said.