At Dera’s Sirsa hospital, probe into ‘illegal abortions’ begins

SIRSA:The Haryana government has opened an investigation to ascertain if illegal abortions were carried out at the Dera Sacha Sauda hospital in Sirsa, officials said on Monday, a day after search operations ended at the sect’s 600-acre campus.

Shah Satnam Ji Super Speciality Hospital’s records for 2015 had some discrepancies that made them suspicious, a doctor with the Sirsa civil hospital who was part of the search team, told Hindustan Times.

“The medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) Act was not being followed properly in the hospital and irregularities have been detected,” deputy commissioner Prabhjot Singh said.

The Dera faced scrutiny after its flamboyant leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on August 25 found guilty of raping two disciples and sent to jail for 20 years.

His followers went on a rampage in Haryana and neighbouring states over the verdict. Thirty-eight people were killed in clashes with security personnel.

A few days later, the Punjab and Haryana HC ordered sanitisation of the Dera headquarters, which is a township in its own right equipped with educational institutes, a cinema hall, a stadium, a “seven-star” hotel, shopping complexes and residential buildings. The hospital, too, is part of the sprawling campus.

A government official said a show-cause notice would be issued to the Dera, which has a sizable following in Haryana, Punjab and neighbouring states.

Deputy director (information) Satish Mehra said the health department found irregularities under the MTP Act in the hospital record. “It can’t be ruled out that the Dera carried medical termination of pregnancies in about six cases,” he said, adding the health department and civil administration had begun the probe.

IRREGULARITIES FOUND UNDER MEDICAL TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT