Sex determination racket busted in Nuh, doctor, tout arrested
A Sonepat Health Department team unearthed a sex determination racket with the arrest of two individuals, including a hospital owner, during a raid in Tauru, Nuh district, on Wednesday. This marks the fourth consecutive raid by the Sonepat Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) team against illegal sex determination practices within 15 days.
Previous raids
- The Sonepat PNDT team has conducted three additional raids in the past two weeks to curb illegal sex determination practices
- December 31: An interstate racket was exposed in Dhampur, Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh). Four individuals were arrested
- January 3: A joint PNDT team from Sonepat and Panipat raided Bawana (Delhi) and uncovered another interstate racket, arresting two people
- January 7: In Dharuhera (Rewari district), the team raided a hospital involved in illegal abortions. Two individuals were arrested, but the doctor managed to escape
The Tauru police registered a case against tout Vinod Saini and Dr Amrit Lal Singhla, owner of Singhla Hospital and Ultrasound Centre, under the PNDT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Dr Jayant Ahuja, Civil Surgeon of Sonepat, received an information about a racket operating near the Rajasthan border, charging exorbitant amounts for illegal sex determination. Acting on the tip-off, a special team led by Dr Sumit Kaushik, Nodal Officer, PNDT, and Dr Sunil Chhikara was formed.
The team arranged a decoy customer and contacted tout Vinod Saini of Fatehabad, Rajasthan, through a secret informer. Saini agreed to perform the illegal ultrasound for Rs 60,000. “Vinod called the decoy to Singhla Hospital near Punjab National Bank in Tauru,” said Dr Kaushik.
At the hospital, Saini took Rs 11,000 as an advance payment and introduced the decoy to Dr Singhla. The doctor created an OPD referral slip and conducted the ultrasound himself. Saini later disclosed the result to the decoy.
Upon receiving the signal from the decoy, Dr Kaushik alerted the PNDT team in Nuh, led by Dr Ashish Singla, Nodal Officer, PNDT, who raided the hospital. Both Saini and Dr Singhla were caught red-handed and Rs 11,000 in cash was recovered from Saini.
“Saini is a key player in this illegal activity. He works as a driver for Dr Singhla and facilitated the entire transaction,” said Dr Kaushik. The remaining Rs 49,000 was to be collected after completing the procedure.
Both individuals were handed over to the Tauru police, who have initiated an investigation.
Dr Kaushik emphasised the department’s commitment to eradicating illegal practices. "We will continue to act against those violating the PNDT Act to ensure compliance with the law,” he said.
