Satyamev Jayate impact: Haryana health dept nabs three for sex-determination tests

The Haryana health department recently caught three persons including a doctor for allegedly conducting sex-determination tests and sealed the ultrasound machine at Saunda village on Monday. This is a part of the government’s drive to curb female foeticide in the state

A spokesman of the Department said that Dr B B Lala, Senior Medical Officer, Brara, had received a tip-off that sex determination tests were being carried out by Dr Jaspal, a registered medical practitioner at his residence in Saunda. Dr Lala sent two women to Jaspal for the test. The doctor allegedly asked them for Rs 6,000-7,000 for conducting the ultrasound at his residence.

The spokesperson added that a police team along with Dr B B Lala then raided Dr Jaspal’s residence and found that a woman had come from Banur to get the sex of her foetus determined. He said that the police caught a person namely Pankaj for conducting the ultra sound test. Police said he was arrested even last year for carrying out illegal sex determination tests and his ultrasound machine had been sealed by Health Department. He was later bailed out.

The two women who helped the department in nabbing the accused are set to be given Rs 20,000 in cash rewards. Female foeticide has become a major talking point since Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate threw the spotlight on this heinous act. Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate had thrown the focus on female foeticide and had quite an impact.

Various state governments have taken various steps to fight this menace. The  Haryana government  has announced that pregnant women will have to submit a photocopy of their identification proof at ultrasound centres as a pre-condition for undergoing the test and there are plans to embed observer chips in ultrasound machines. Aamir Khan also met Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot to discuss the female foeticide situation in the state and convinced him that infanticide cases should be fast-tracked in special court. In MP, 65 MTP (medical termination of pregnancy) licences were suspended because they hadn’t submitted the necessary document