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The recovery of several decomposed bodies, allegedly of female foetuses, from a well in the town of Patran has shocked the nation and highlighted the fact that despite strict laws against sex-selective abortion, proof of their success lies in the implementation
Even as the townspeople of Patran, in Punjab, are recovering from the shocking discovery of a mass grave of foetuses, allegedly female, in their town, district health authorities have unearthed another well near the earlier site in which around 200-300 female foetuses are suspected to be buried.
The recovery of 35 decomposed foetuses in a well in Punjab, that made international headlines, has blown the lid off a thriving racket involving the abortion of female foetuses in a state where men greatly outnumber women. The police have arrested Pritam Singh and his wife Amarjit Kaur, posing as doctors, for allegedly aborting female foetuses, despite the presence of a decade-old ban on sex-selective abortion in India.
Police found the foetuses, reportedly thrown in over a period of three months, in an abandoned well near Sahib Nursing Home, on the Patiala-Patran road, during a raid conducted by state health authorities on August 9. Some sources claim up to 50 foetuses were found in the well. However, their condition made it hard to determine the exact number or sex.
Apparently, the couple put acid into the pit to speed up the decomposition process. The remains have been sent to the Government Medical College in Patiala for histro-pathological examination.
The police also reportedly seized surgical equipment and other material used to carry out abortions. The nursing home is not authorised to conduct medical termination of pregnancies, but has evidently been performing the procedure for several years.
Patiala civil surgeon Dr Varinder Singh Mohi said superintending medical officers from Shutrana and Samrana conducted the raids after he received a tip-off, late in the evening of August 8, that two foetuses were in the well. The tip-off came from a midwife employed at the illegal nursing home who was sacked following an altercation with a doctor. Mohi said the woman had given a signed statement to the police that 30-35 foetuses had been disposed of in the well by the couple.
The police have booked the couple under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCNDT) Act. They face up to three to ten years in prison if convicted. Just months ago, a Haryana doctor was sentenced to jail for conducting illegal abortions, the first such conviction under the Act.
For years, the couple posed as doctors in Patran, 115 km from Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab. According to sources, they not only operated a maternity home but also assisted expectant couples determine the sex of their unborn child and abort the foetus if it was female. Officials quoting hospital employees said married women were charged between Rs 8,000-Rs 15,000 for an abortion. "I always wondered how this place was always flooded with women when there were so many good hospitals in nearby towns," said a resident of Patran. "I could never imagine what was going on inside."
Mohi has sought an explanation from Dr I C Taneja, senior medical officer, Civil Hospital, Patran, as to why he failed to detect that illegal abortions were being carried out at the nursing home. The detection of another grave, allegedly of aborted girl-children has also gravely embarrassed the district health authorities.
According to official sources, the district health authorities identified around 20 ultrasound centres located in various towns in Patiala and Sangrur districts and in Tohana, Kaithal, Jakhal, Ambala, Raipur Rani and Nariangarh areas in Haryana, which had been carrying out illegal pre-natal sex-determination tests and sending a significant number of pregnant women to Sahib Nursing Home to illegally abort their female foetuses.
Though the district administration and health authorities refused to divulge their plans in dealing with these ultrasound centres, according to sources a joint operation will shortly be launched by the Punjab and Haryana police departments to nab people who have been supplying customers to quacks in Patran. Meanwhile, an ultrasound centre in Samana was sealed and another, located at Dirba Mandi, raided.
Girl-children are largely unwanted in Punjab and the abortion of female foetuses is a routine occurrence, despite the presence of stringent laws that punish both those who perform sex-selective abortions and those who opt for them. As a result, the sex ratio in Punjab is severely skewed in favour of males. While the official under-6 ratio of 798 females per 1,000 males is among the lowest in the country, some estimates put the number as low as 500 or 600 females to 1,000 males.
Source: The Tribune, August 11,
2006
www.mg.za.co, August 10,
2006
Reuters, August 10,
2006
AP, August 9, 2006
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