Ex-MLA arrested for conducting gender tests

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, July 5

A special team of the Ambala Health Department today arrested former INLD MLA of Indri Dr Ashok Kashyap red-handed for allegedly conducting a sex determination test at his hospital in Indri. 

Two others, including one tout, were also arrested, while one is absconding. They also recovered Rs 5,000 from them. The team also confiscated a large number of drugs related to medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) and narcotic drugs without bills from the chemist shop on the premises of Dr Ashok Hospital. 

“We have sealed the chemist shop for not producing the bills of the MTP kits and narcotic drugs,” said Parjinder Singh, senior drug controller. About the operation, the Vinod Gupta, Ambala Civil Surgeon, said on a tip-off about a tout active in Ambala assisting people to get  sex determination, they formed a special team yesterday headed by Ambala City  SDM AS Tomar along with Dr BB Lala, Deputy Civil Surgeon (Family Planning), Dr Pawan Kumar and Dr Kulvinder Kaur.

To catch the tout and the doctor, they approached a pregnant woman to act as a decoy patient and her family members contacted the tout for sex determination test. The deal was finalised for Rs 13,000, said Dr Gupta. The team members kept tracking the tout and the decoy since today morning from Ambala City and when they reached Dr Ashok Hospital in Indri, they made arrangements to catch the culprits red-handed and informed the Karnal administration and Health Department. When they raided the hospital, sex determination test was being conducted by the former MLA Dr Ashok Kashyap on the woman, he added.

“The police have registered a case against Kashyap. Sukhbir and Naresh, both touts, have also been booked. Pooja, an employee of the hospital, and Varun, who runs a chemist shop, have also been booked,” said Kushalpal, DSP, Indri.