Gender test racket busted, 18 held in Hanamkonda

 WARANGAL: Warangal police busted an illegal sex determination racket and arrested 18 persons including private and government doctors in Hanamkonda on Monday.

Disclosing the details of the case to the media at a press meet held at the police commissionerate here, police commissioner A.V. Ranganath said that after a tip-off, a police team led by DCP Pushpa conducted a sting operation and busted the illegal hospitals and scanning centres present in the tri-cities of Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet, carrying out illegal gender determination tests.

He said that some unqualified persons formed a gang and started running hospitals and scanning centres where operations, abortions and scanning tests were being conducted, in violation of rules. They targeted the couples who were wishing to have a male baby in the tri-cities. There were also cases of deaths of several women at these illegal hospital settings, said the CP.

The offenders were collecting Rs 10,000 for each sex-determining test. If it was a female baby, they used to charge Rs 50,000 for an illegal abortion. Several RMPs and others carrying out scanning tests were involved in the racket, revealed the commissioner.

He said the gang involved in the racket used to pass the information of the test result to the parents through the code language, so that others could not understand their illegal business.

If the baby is determined as male, they used to send the photos of lord Sri Rama or Sri Venkateshwara Swamy to the parents and goddess Lakshmi Devi or Saraswathi Devi if it is a female baby. The police registered a case against the arrested 18 members of the racket and started a manhunt for some more persons who were absconding. The CP appreciated the police team for busting the racket.