Man held for conducting foetal sex determination
The search was conducted by a state-level inspection team at Indili village near Chinna Salem in Kallakurichi.
Representative Image (File)
CHENNAI: Acting on a tip-off, the State Health department officials under the Directorate of Rural Health and Medical Services conducted a surprise inspection in Kallakurichi and arrested a man for conducting foetal scans and performing prenatal disclosure of sex.
The accused, a diploma holder in Pharma, was arrested under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, and has been jailed after a police complaint was filed in this case. The search was conducted by a state-level inspection team at Indili village near Chinna Salem in Kallakurichi. The officials caught hold of Murugesan, a D pharm qualification, who was found to be illegally performing scans on pregnant women and identifying the sex of the foetus.
The inspection team confiscated the scanning equipment, the car used for conducting the scans, and the diagnosis machines. Murugesan’s house was also sealed. Following the instructions of the health minister Ma Subramanian, a complaint was lodged with the police, and Murugesan was subsequently arrested.
In a significant development, a relative of one of the pregnant women was also arrested for pressurising her to undergo the scan to determine the foetus’s sex, read the release by health department. This is the first time such an action has been taken against the relative of a patient in such a case in the State.
