Pharmacist Under Scanner in Surat Illegal Sex Determination, Abortion Case
Surat: An alleged illegal abortion and prenatal sex determination racket operating from a private hospital in Surat has been uncovered in a raid conducted by the district health department, officials said on Wednesday.
The raid was conducted on the orders of Gujarat Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Praful Pansheriya, who later also issued a show-cause notice to the Surat district health department for negligence in allowing the hospital to operate.
Acting on the orders, the raid was conducted by a team of district health department led by Chief District Health Officer Dr Anil Patel at Mamta Multi-Speciality Hospital in the Varachha area on Monday, according to the First Information Report (FIR) registered in the case.
Preliminary investigation revealed the hospital was allegedly conducting abortions and prenatal diagnostic tests without the required licences, in violation of multiple laws, including the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, the Gujarat Clinical Establishments Act, and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
During the raid, statements of the hospital staff and three patients admitted at the medical facility were recorded. It was found that illegal abortion and prenatal diagnostic procedures were being carried out at the hospital, which has been sealed, according to an official statement of the district health department.
An FIR has been registered against hospital owner Ramgopal Khandelwal under relevant sections of the PCPNDT Act 1994 and Rules 1996, the Gujarat Clinical Establishments Act 2021, and the MTP Act, it added.
Notably, Khandelwal is not a licenced medical doctor and is a pharmacist by qualification.
The health department has sealed the hospital. Of the three patients admitted there, two were shifted to New Civil Hospital, Surat for further treatment and medical examination, the statement added.
Minister Pansheriya issued a show-cause notice to the district health authority for negligence.
"I have issued a show-cause notice to district health department officials asking them to explain what they were doing with the responsibility that was entrusted to them," he said in a video message.
"When the society is moving forward with the slogan of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, (save the girl child, educate the girl child)' it is unfortunate that some mothers attempt to kill their daughters in the womb," he rued.
Action has been taken against the hospital owner who was committing such monstrous acts, he said.Pansheriya noted that the owner was earlier arrested for committing the same offence.
"Previously they used to operate under the name of Shivaay Hospital. That hospital was then sealed and name was later changed to Mamta Multispeciality Hospital," Pansheriya said.
District health authorities have been grossly negligent because the hospital had been conducting two to five prenatal tests and abortions per day for a long time, the minister maintained.He described the racket as a grave matter of concern for a civilized society.
