Illegal Sonography Machine Racket Selling for Rs 10 lakh busted in Jaipur

Jaipur: A small-sized foreign-made sonography machine was being illegally sold for up to Rs 10 lakh across the country. The Rajasthan Health Department's pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques (PCPNDT) team recently seized such a machine and busted a nationwide racket involved in the illegal trading of portable sonography machines.

It has been reported that these portable handy machines could be misused for sex determination and female foeticide. The team arrested the man behind the sale, identified as Amitabh Bhaduri, a gang member from Hooghly, West Bengal. He had come to Jaipur to deliver an unregistered sonography machine after striking a deal with the state health department. 

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The team had been tracking suspicious online sales of foreign-made portable sonography machines for the past two months. These machines are small, easy to carry, and work with a power backup, making them dangerous tools in the hands of those involved in illegal sex determination practices.

The racket was busted after one of the health department's employee contacted the seller by posing as a buyer. For this, Bhaduri travelled to the city by train and waited briefly at the railway station. The final meeting point was set at Central Park, where PCPNDT officials arrested him with the machine.

Speaking to TOI, Devendra Chaudhary, Joint Director (Bikaner), Health Department, said, "We asked one of the health department's employe to call the person selling the machines. The person agreed for a deal after we agreed to transfer Rs 15,000 online. He came to the city via train due to security reasons and briefly stayed in the waiting room of the station. We asked him to deliver the machine in Central Park where PCPNDT officials arrested him."

During questioning, the accused confessed that he brought the machine from a person named Aditya Murarka of Life Plus Healthcare Private Limited, Kolkata.

Dr Amit Yadav, Mission Director of the National Health Mission, said, "Several others are involved in this trade, and the machines are being sold up to Rs 10 lakh across the country. Local police and administration in Kolkata have been informed about this illegal racket, and an  investigation is being pursued."

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