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3 held for carrying out abortion illegally at govt hospital quarters
The clinic was being run from the quarter of the hospital’s ambulance driver. He was being helped by his wife and her mother
Three people were arrested on Monday after they were found carrying out illegal abortion in one of the quarters of a government hospital in Mandya district during a raid by the health department officials that was conducted on Sunday night, according to people familiar with the matter.
A joint team led by Mandya district health officer Dr Mohan R, along with law enforcement personnel, conducted a raid on the residence of the Pandavapura government hospital ambulance driver on the basis of a tip-off. During the raid, a woman from Mysore, who had suffered a miscarriage during an abortion, was rescued from the premises.
The perpetrators behind this act have been identified as Pandavpur Taluk hospital ambulance driver Anand (38), his wife and Taluk Hospital outsourced D Group staff Ashwini (30), and her mother Shashikala (65).
The trio has been apprehended by law enforcement officials and produced before Pandavapura JMFC court.
It has come to light that illegal activities were being carried out within the government residence provided to driver Anand, raising concerns about the complicity of certain individuals within the healthcare system. Suspicions have arisen regarding the involvement of some doctors in this illicit racket, prompting authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the matter, according to officials.
Pandavapura Taluk Medical Officer Dr Aravind said: “We received information about illegal abortions being conducted by Anand, Shashikala, and Ashwini at their residence. We, along with the police, conducted a raid at around midnight on Sunday and rescued a woman from her house. The accused have links to a scanning centre that conducts sex determination tests. After the family decides to abort, they come to the official residence of the driver for the procedure.”
Pandavapura Police Inspector Kumar Gowda said: “We have registered a case under IPC sections 313 (miscarriage without a woman’s consent), 315 (preventing a child’s birth intention), and 316 (death of an unborn child) based on a complaint filed by DHO. We are investigating to find out which scanning machine was being used to conduct the sex determination tests.”
On October 15, 2023, police busted a gang that was conducting illegal sex determination tests at a farmhouse in Mandya and had been conducting illegal abortions numbering in the 800s over the past three years. All 12 accused were arrested in the case.
After this case came to light, the state government tightened vigilance on scanning centres.
