A joint team of officials from Haryana's Jhajjar and Charkhi Dadri districts, operating under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act, successfully dismantled an interstate sex determination racket in Gaya, Bihar, leading to the arrest of four individuals, including two agents based in Haryana.
Details of the Arrests and Accused
The four persons apprehended were identified as Ramashray Prasad, Gulshan Kumar, Surender, and Rakesh Yadav. Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Sumita Misra, confirmed that cases have been registered against all accused under the PC&PNDT Act, 1994, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act.
Decoy Operation Leads to Raid
The District Appropriate Authorities (DAA) of Jhajjar and Charkhi Dadri received specific intelligence last week that Surender and Rakesh Yadav, residents of Chhuchhakwas village in Jhajjar district, were transporting pregnant women from Jhajjar, Dadri, and surrounding areas to Bihar for illegal fetal sex determination in exchange for money. Acting on this information, the DAA, Jhajjar, constituted a special team comprising Dr. Sandeep Kumar (Nodal Officer, PC-PNDT), Dr. Basant Kumar Dubey, Vinod Kumar from Jhajjar, and Dr. Udaybha and Dr. Sandeep from Charkhi Dadri.
The team deployed a pregnant woman as a decoy customer, accompanied by a man posing as her husband. The accused, Surender and Rakesh Yadav, allegedly agreed to conduct the illegal sex determination test for Rs 50,000 and instructed the decoy customer to meet them at Chhuchhakwas on the night of June 19.
Raid on Illegal Ultrasound Centre
The decoy was then taken to Tikari town in Bihar's Gaya district, with the joint PNDT teams following the vehicle at a safe distance. Upon arrival in Tikari, the accused brought the woman to Shiv Shakti Ultrasound Centre, which was allegedly operating illegally. At the centre, operator Ramashray Prasad and Gulshan Kumar, who posed as a sonologist, conducted an ultrasound examination and disclosed that the foetus was male.
Immediately afterward, the joint PNDT teams, assisted by officials from the Gaya district PNDT unit authorized by the District Magistrate of Gaya, raided the centre and arrested all four on the spot. During the raid, the teams recovered an illegal ultrasound machine from the premises. All four were subsequently handed over to the Tikari police station in Gaya district for further legal proceedings.
Impact and Legal Action
This operation underscores the ongoing efforts to enforce the PC&PNDT Act, which prohibits sex determination and aims to prevent gender-based discrimination. The involvement of multiple districts and states highlights the collaborative approach required to tackle such interstate illegal activities. Dr. Sumita Misra stated, "The cases have been registered under the PC&PNDT Act, BNS, and NMC Act, and we are committed to ensuring strict action against those involved in such heinous practices."
