The Times of India            27.12.2013 

Aurangabad Municipal Corporation seals sonography centre in Aurangpura

AURANGABAD: A sonography centre in Aurangpura in the city was sealed down following a sting operation on Tuesday evening, where a doctor was caught red-handed while allegedly conducting the sex determination test of a foetus. The raid against the centre, run by a physician, was jointly conducted by officials of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the divisional vigilance squad.

Jayashree Kulkarni, health officer in the AMC, said that the centre was sealed by the authorities late on Tuesday evening, but no arrests have been made yet. "The matter will be produced before the court on Thursday," Kulkarni said.

"We have initiated action against the doctors and other people involved in this crime under the provisions of Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (prohibition of sex selection) Act (PCNDT)," Kulkarni told TOI.

Kulkarni said AMC authorities had been receiving complaints about the centre indulging in sex determination for quite some time. The raid was planned for two days. The authorities had sent in a pregnant woman - with a fake identity - to set a trap. According to officials, an agent associated with the centre had fixed up a deal for determining the sex of the foetus. The woman was told that it was a girl child and if she was willing to terminate the pregnancy, she would have to pay Rs 40,000. The woman had paid Rs 23,000 as an advance for the abortion.

When the authorities raided the centre, they recovered cash and found discrepancies in the centre's records.

"In June 2012, the divisional vigilance squad had found discrepancies in the records maintained by the centre on a surprise visit. We had served notices to the centre, asking it to maintain proper records of sonography tests held. It is mandatory on the part of sonogrphy centres to keep details of all tests done in their units. We had received repeated complaints against the centre," Kulkarni said.