Thaindian News

Chandigarh, April 20 (IANS) A doctor and his assistant in Haryana’s Karnal town were caught red-handed Wednesday while they were conducting a test on a pregnant woman to determine the foetus’ gender.

A team of district authorities and health officials, led by Karnal Civil Surgeon Vandana Bhatia, caught Brij Bhushan, who runs the Karnal Ultrasound Centre, and his compounder Amit while conductingthen sex dtermionation test, whih is banned under law. Karnal town is some 120 km from here.

The team was accompanied by police officers.

The officials seized a China-made portable ultrasound machine and other equipments.

“The woman, who had come there for the test, tried to run away by jumping over a wall. However, the members of the team caught her. The woman has been identified as Neelam, resident of Sampla Kheri in district Kaithal,” a state government spokesman said here.

The woman has a one-and-a-half year old girl and was three months pregnant.

Earlier in February this year, the doctor’s clinic in another part of Karnal was sealed for carrying out sex determination tests.

Bhushan had then hired the new place in a residential area to carry out his illegal activities.

Haryana has the worst sex ratio among all states in India - 877 females per 1,000 males. The national sex ratio, as per Census 2011, is 940.

“Action would be taken against the doctor and his compounder under the provisions of PNDT (Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act,” the spokesman added.

Sex determination tests are banned under the PNDT Act to check the practice of aborting female foetuses.