Ayurvedic doctor arrested for gender test, forgery

CHANDIGARH: Jhajjar police have arrested an ayurvedic medical practitioner for facilitating ultrasound examination of an expectant mother for sex determination test. The accused charged Rs 15,000 and even forged a slip to get the test done.
Identified as Deepak Dahiya, the accused was arrested under various sections of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and forgery in a case registered on the complaint of Dr Anchal, head of the PCPNDT team of Jhajjar.
According to police, acting on a tip off that Deepak facilitated families get banned gender test done, a district-level committee roped in an expectant mother as decoy.
Initially, Dahiya had demanded an amount of Rs 25,000 but later the deal was finalised for Rs 15,000. On Monday, he forged a referral slip using the rubber stamp of his female colleague for the purpose of ultrasound. He took the decoy to a ultrasound centre where scanning was done. Later, when contacted by decoy, Dahiya told her that report was negative and the pregnancy could not be terminated as it was risky. Reportedly, it was a way of disclosing the sex of the fetus.
Soon after the conversation, a team of health officials rounded up Dr Deepak Dahiya and another team raided the ultrasound centre where the decoy was taken for the ultrasound scan.
“An amount of Rs 15,000 was recovered from Dahiya and the conversation confirmed his involvement in the violation of PNDT Act and referral slip proved that its was forged one. The doctor whose signed were forged was found to be on leave. We had recorded the statement of the owner of the hospital where Dahiya worked. He has been arrested and further investigations are in progress,’’ said a police official.
Meanwhile, sources informed that the ultrasound centre has been sealed. However, the records of ultrasound centre were found to be in order.