Hisar doctor among 4 held in sex determination case

The police have arrested a doctor and three others in connection with a sex determination test at a clinic in Hisar town last night. The arrested include clinic owner Surajmal, an employee Prem, and Dr Anant Ram Barwala. The accused were produced in the court, which remanded Surajmal to two-day police custody and sent the others to judicial remand.

Sources said before court appearance, Dr Barwala complained of health issues, including anxiety and dizziness and was admitted to hospital, where doctors found his blood pressure to be low.

According to the Health Department, acting on a tip-off, the team sent a decoy customer, with Rs 35,000 in marked currency notes, to the clinic in Azad Nagar. PNDT Nodal Officer Dr Anamika Bishnoi; Hisar PNDT Nodal Officer Dr Prolin Garg; Medical Officer, PHC Agroha; and Ajay Kumar, DEO, PNDT, were part of the team that conducted the raid.

An informer took the decoy customer to the clinic, where she handed over the agreed amount of Rs 35,000 to Surajmal for sex determination. She was directed to go to a room upstairs.

Soon after, the team raided the clinic. On seeing them, Surajmal alerted his staff and tried to flee. However, the raiding party conducted a search and found two women and a man in a room on the first floor.

The sources said a laptop-like portable ultrasound machine and its charger were recovered from the room. No Form-F had been filled for the ultrasound of the pregnant woman. Six MTP kits and allopathic medicines were also found.