E-Paper
Doctor couple remanded to judicial custody
Nearly 50 female foetuses were recovered from a covered pit in the backyard of their private hospital.
Owners of a private hospital in Patiala, Pritam Singh and his wife Amarjit Kaur, were arrested in connection with the recovery of 50 female foetuses from their hospital's backyard. They were remanded to judicial custody till August 26.
The two were produced before a Magistrate at Samana, who remanded them to judicial custody.
Nearly 50 female foetuses were recovered from a covered pit in the backyard of the private hospital, located on Patiala-Patran road.
The incident came to light when Pooja, a midwife at the hospital who was fired recently, approached the Health Department alleging scores of female foetuses had been aborted and dumped in the hospital's backyard.
Singh, a retired armyman, and Kaur were arrested on charges of running an illegal female foeticide racket.
Singh, after being remanded to judicial custody, told reporters that all allegations against them were baseless.
Accusing Pooja of trying to blackmail him, he alleged she had been pressing him to hand over the plot at the back of the hospital to her or pay her Rs two lakh.
When he refused she connived with some officials to frame him and his wife, he alleged.
Singh claimed to be a registered medical practitioner in Haryana but got his registration transferred to Punjab three years back when he started the hospital.
A three-member fact-finding SGPC team on Sunday visited Patran and took stock of the situation.
The team appealed to Sikhs to abide by the edict issued by the Akal Takht against female foeticide.
