Nawanshahr doctor booked under PNDT Act

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 28

The Balachaur city police have booked a doctor in Balachaur under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act for conducting illegal sex determination test on his hospital premises, after teams of the Health Department conducted a sting operation at his hospital here on Saturday.

Dr Ujagar Singh Soori has been booked under Sections 420, 120-B, 353 and 186 of the IPC and under Sections 4,3,5,6,18 and 29 of the PCPNDT (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act.

Teams of the Health Department conducted a sting under the PCPNDT Act at the Soori Hospital in Balachaur, District SBS Nagar. Teams from Panchkula and Nawanshahr Health Departments conducted the sting in which sex determination test was being conducted. A decoy patient was sent for sex determination test, for which Rs35,000 was charged from her.

During the raid, Rs15,000 (of the money charged from the patient) was recovered from the spot.

Health teams said during the inspection Soori Hospital was found to be unregistered, the doctor conducting the scans could not produce a registration or valid degree and the ultrasound machine was also found to be unregistered.

Officials who were part of the health team conducting the raid included Dr Vikas Gupta, Nodal Officer, PNDT Panchkula; Drug Control Officer Parveen Chaudhary; an ASI and constable from the Panchkula police among others.

Dr Vikas Gupta, Nodal officer PNDT, Panchkula, said: “A deal had been struck with a decoy patient to conduct an ultrasound on the payment of Rs35,000. The patient paid the money and identified the doctor, who conducted the scan on her. A nurse and another person accompanying the doctor promptly fled from the spot on seeing the team. An attendant at the hospital also attempted to manhandle us. The machine was hidden by the doctor who himself ran away.”

Dr Gupta said: “Rs15,000 of the money charged from the patient was recovered from the spot, while Rs20,000 is yet to be recovered. A handy 2 feet portable machine which is not allowed in the state was being used for the scans. Both machine and ultrasound centre itself are unregistered. The doctor also could not produce a valid degree. The machine and the DVR box of the hospital (which has the CCTV footage) has been given to the police. The quantum of the scans which were being conducted at the ultrasound centre will come to the fore after the contents are investigated.”

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