Arrests made after op on baby

LONDON: A FAMILY doctor has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after a baby was allegedly circumcised without his mother’s consent.

Dr Balvinder Mehat, 61, was held following an investigation into the procedure.

It is alleged the GP was asked by the father’s Pakistani family to carry out the procedure in accordance with their Islamic faith – but the boy’s mother, 28, who is separated from the father, was said to be horrified when she found out.

She complained to social services and the police about the clinician, who works at the Bakersfield Medical Centre in Nottingham, claiming her son was in obvious distress when he was handed back to her following the procedure in July 2013.

Nottinghamshire Police reopened the inquiry, after previously deciding it was not a criminal matter, after leading human rights

‘Three were held on suspicion of grievous bodily harm’

lawyer Saimo Chahal QC threatened the force with a judicial review.

Mehat was arrested, along with a 44-year-old man and a woman, 47, believed to be the child’s paternal grandparents, who were held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

All three have been released pending further investigation. It is understood to be the first time police have treated “non-therapeutic” circumcision as GBH.

Richard Duncker, of Men Do Complain, said: “It (the arrests) is good news because it gets the issue of child genital surgery for non-therapeutic reasons into the public debate.”

Tim Alford, also from the group, said the mother “feels vindicated”.

“I have been campaigning for some time and this is the first time I have seen the police refer to non-therapeutic circumcision as GBH. It is quite a landmark,” he added. – Daily Mail