How Karnataka govt has woken up to address female foeticide issue

The Congress government in Karnataka has finally swung into action over the female foeticide racket that was being run in the Health Department’s staff quarters at Pandavapura in Mandya district.

The competent authority’s indifferent approach in registering cases against the perpetrators of crime drew harsh criticism from various quarters of the society. Leading Kannada dailies carried editorials criticising the government inaction against the heinous crime, even after unearthing illegal sex determination and female foeticide racket.

Waking up from deep slumber, the state Health Department tightened its grip over illegal sex determination and has barred the entry of any attender or relative along with pregnant women inside the ultrasound room, and prohibited the display of additional monitors there.The Federal has also reported on the phenomenon of female foeticide that rocked Karnataka recently with police arresting three persons in connection with it in Mandya district (May 11, 2024).

A workshop with an impact

A workshop on Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection-PCPNDT) Act 1994 was recently held where radiologists and gynaecologists expressed their discontentment over the effective implementation of the Act in Karnataka. They flagged the issue of attenders accompanying pregnant women inside the ultrasound room and them capturing videos and photos of the ultrasound procedure.

According to one of the radiologists who attended the workshop, “many medical practitioners, especially radiologists expressed their concern over the recording of videos inside the ultrasonography room and identifying sex of the foetus and sharing the video with other gynaecologists, radiologists and sonologists”.

Sharing of videos a concern

They were concerned that the sharing of video will help the ‘female foeticide’ racket to turn the clippings for “running their business unhindered”.

An ethical radiologist underlined the fact that “this is complete violation of PCPNDT Act under Section 5, Sub-Section (2) which states, no person, including the person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures, should communicate to the pregnant women concerned or her relatives or any other person the sex of the foetus by words, signs or in any other manner”.

Official circular on banning attenders

Following the outcry in the workshop, the authorities issued an official circular barring the attenders inside the ultrasonography rooms.

Subsequently, all ultrasound scanning centres and hospitals, where scanning is done, have been directed to display boards outside the room stating that no attender would be allowed inside.

State Health Commissioner D Randeep, who is heading the Task Force of State PCPNDT also told the media that “during inspection of scanning centres, several violations have been noticed”. The circular is aimed at effective implementation of PCPNDT Act.

Inspection of task force 

Vivek Dorai, Deputy Director (Medical Acts) and Nodal Officer, PCPNDT, said it is being observed that attenders of pregnant women deliberately and intentionally record videos of the ultrasound procedure and share that with family members and friends.

During the inspection by the task force, it is also observed that an additional monitor is installed in the ultrasound room enabling pregnant women to watch the ultrasound procedure.

Sometimes radiologists communicate sex of the foetus through gestures and signals to the relatives and attenders who accompany the pregnant woman. This act is also helping those involved in the business of female foeticide. It is an attempt to get the sex of the foetus determined elsewhere.

The circular, according to him, aims at containing the phenomenon of foetus sex determination, which is legal in some foreign shores, including Singapore, Thailand and Dubai.

Raids conducted

Acting on a tip-off, the health department personnel and police officials conducted a raid on a guest house of the Health Department in Pandavapura in the first week of May and arrested three persons, including two employees of the Pandavapura Taluk Hospital in connection with the incident. The civic society was shocked by the fact that female foeticide was done in a guest house of Karnataka health department.

Mandya SP N Yatish, who led the team which raided the guest house, hinted at the possibility of a big female foeticide racket in the region. Mandya District-in-charge Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, who acknowledged Mandya SP’s opinion said, “It looks like an organised racket is operating ruthlessly in the dark”.

Police busted a major female foeticide ring in Karnataka and arrested nine people including two doctors in November last year. Those arrested are facing charges under the PCPNDT Act and Section 312 of IPC (causing miscarriage). According to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner Dayananda, the gang might have carried 242 foeticide in just three months. Following this Karnataka Health Department officials have conducted a surprise visit to a hospital and found a female foetus dumped in a dustbin.

CID probe

Alarmed by the increase in the number of female foeticide cases, the Karnataka government has entrusted the investigation of the cases in and around Bengaluru city and Bengaluru Rural areas to the CID. According to sources in CID, a detailed report was submitted to the health department, as it doesn’t have the power to file a chargesheet in the case. Investigative agency also identified loopholes in the PCPNDT Act 1994.

Formation of the state-level task force is a fallout of the CID report. The government issuing circular barring attenders inside ultrasonography and displaying additional monitors in the ultrasound room could be the outcome of the array of developments including the PCPNDT workshop conducted by the competent authority recently.