Govt cell busts sex test racket, 5 held

The health department’s pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic technique (PCPNDT) cell have busted a sex determination racket in Sriganganagar.

A PCPNDT team arrested five, including three women on Thursday night, officials said. On Friday, the accused were presented in a PCPNDT court, which sent them to judicial custody.

The accused were identified as midwife Vimla Devi (50) resident of Netewala; mediator Shanti Devi (45), resident of Ashok Nagar B; fake doctor Rekha (22), resident of Arayan; middlemen Rakesh, resident of DBN A 34 MOD and Jaipal.

Rekha worked as a nurse, while middlemen Rakesh and Jaipal worked as public relation officer (PRO) with local hospitals. Preliminary enquiry suggested that PROs of many other hospitals were also involved in sex determination, the officials said.

Naveen Jain, mission director, National Health Mission, said that a PCPNDT cell team contacted Rakesh and finalised a deal for ₹40,000. The decoy customer was asked to come near Shubham Hospital. He took the pregnant woman to the house of Vimla Devi, who citing engagements asked the woman to come at Meera Chowk on Thursday.

On Thursday, Vimla took the decoy customer to a mediator Shanti at Ashok Nagar Colony, who, in turn, took the woman to Rekha’s house. On getting a signal from the decoy customer, the PCPNDT cell team arrested all five accused from the house.

HTC