Officers from Bengaluru closed down two hospitals on charges of conducting prenatal sex determination and female foeticide in Gokak and Mudalagi in Belagavi district on Tuesday. Two doctors and an assistant were detained. One more doctor is absconding.
The hospitals face charges of conducting over 80 sex determinations and 40 abortions.
Acting on verified information, members of the district competent authority raided the hospitals and closed them after obtaining enough evidence of their illegal acts. Pregnant women from nearby villages had tipped off officers. Taluk Health Officers closed the hospitals.
Kutezulla Kubra of Ikra Hospital in Gokak, S.S. Patil of Mudalagi and agent Tukaram Bhimappa Khot have been taken into custody. Siddharoodh Pujari, a doctor from Mamadapur, is absconding. Investigation is on. The raids were conducted by the State-level competent authority under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994.
Officers seized scanning machines, cash of ₹1.8 lakh and records of ₹20,000 transferred through UPI. The doctors were engaged in this activity for at least four years, officers said. The authority has announced an award of ₹1 lakh for informants.
