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In a major crackdown on illegal sex determination and abortion practices, officials of the State Appropriate Authority under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act conducted a successful decoy operation in Hunuganahalli Hundi, Bannur taluk of Mysuru district, on Wednesday.
The illegal setup was allegedly being managed by a nurse and others. While seven persons, including the nurse, have been booked, police confirmed the arrest of four persons. They are on the lookout for the remaining accused. Cash was also seized from the premises.
The joint operation by the State and District Appropriate Authorities (PCPNDT) and the State and District Inspection and Monitoring Committees (SIMC and DIMC), in coordination with Health officials from Mandya and Mysuru, led to the unearthing of a clandestine setup allegedly involved in prenatal gender testing and sex-selective abortions.
How it unfolded
The operation followed nearly four months of surveillance by the Mandya district health team, which had used a pregnant woman as a decoy to build the confidence of the accused. The team had gathered evidence that the racketeers were offering to determine the sex of the foetus and terminate pregnancies if the foetus was found to be female. They demanded ₹30,000 for the procedure, officials said.
According to State PCPNDT Nodal Officer Vivek Dorai, who led the State-level team, the operation began at Mellahalli Circle where ₹30,000 was handed over by a woman named Puttasiddamma to a man identified as Swamy. Shortly after, a pregnant woman was picked up by another individual, Govindaraju, in a car, and two others — Roopa (34) from K.R. Nagar and Uma (23) from Keragalli, Mysuru taluk — were also brought to a newly constructed farmhouse in Hunuganahalli.
Acting swiftly, the officials raided the premises within 15 minutes and found the three women, including the decoy, in a bedroom on the first floor, reportedly awaiting the arrival of a doctor for the illegal procedure. Several other women and children were also present at the spot.
What was recovered
During inspection, the team recovered medical equipment and materials used for pregnancy-related procedures and receipts from private facilities. A computer system and diaries containing names of multiple pregnant women were also seized, indicating a wider network.
Dr. Dorai said the activities amounted to violations under Section 3A of the PCPNDT Act, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, and the Biomedical Waste Management Act. The District Appropriate Authority, Mysuru, has filed a police complaint, and an FIR has been registered at the Varuna Police Station.
Mysuru District Health Officer (DHO) P.C. Kumaraswamy and Mandya DHO Mohan were part of the team. Dr. Mohan said further investigation has been handed over to the Mysuru DHO’s office as the jurisdiction falls under Mysuru district.
“The operation has exposed a serious violation of the PCPNDT and MTP Acts. A detailed investigation will follow, and legal action will be taken against all those involved,” Dr. Dorai said.
Officials added that the crackdown on illegal sex determination and abortions will continue, with special teams monitoring suspected activities across the region.
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