Mysuru scanning centre shut over alleged foeticide

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Health department officials on Tuesday launched a crackdown on a medical scanning centre following complaints of carrying out medical termination of female foetuses at Bogadi in the city.

A team of officials led by taluk health officer Puttathayamma carried out the raid at Sridevi Private Nursing Home in the city.

As per norms, the management of the nursing home must preserve two years of scanning prints and maintain records, but the nursing home failed to maintain the same.

Officials sealed the private nursing home for not complying with the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment( KPME) guidelines. Both inpatients and outpatients were shifted to an alternative nursing home before conducting the raid.

A total of 15 medical scanning centres have been shut down in Mysuru for the last few days by health department officials after a largescale female foeticide ring was exposed at a jaggery factory in a remote village of neighbouring Mandya district.

The gang used to contact pregnant women and persuade them to get a sex determination test done, for which they charged Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000.

They used to conduct tests in the factory.

''If the tests showed a female, they would ask the women whether they wanted to abort it. If the women agreed, the team would charge about Rs 50,000 to do the job.'' a police official had said.