Madhya Pradesh: Man posing as doctor held for illegal fetal sex tests; caught with portable ultrasound

NEW DELHI: A former peon posing as a doctor was arrested in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, for conducting illegal fetal sex determination tests on Friday. Sanju Sharma, 30, was caught during a joint raid by health department teams from Gwalior and Morena, along with social worker Meena Sharma, near Gadora Pura on Joura Road.The raid was conducted under Morena District Collector Lokesh Jangid's direction after receiving a tip-off. Authorities used a decoy woman accompanied by a plainclothes policewoman to trap the accused.The team caught Sharma red-handed with a portable ultrasound machine as he began the testing process. He was subsequently handed over to Morena police, and a case was registered at Civil Lines police station.Sharma was previously employed as a peon with the district education department and was posted at Bilgaon Middle School.

He was suspended in November 2024 for involvement in illegal activities."About six months ago, a man was caught in Jaipur selling a portable ultrasound machine. He had a photograph of Sanju Sharma and told the police that the latter had been conducting illegal fetal sex determination tests. We have been tracking him ever since," said Dr Praval Pratap Singh, a member of the Gwalior health department.Dr Singh also revealed that on May 2, 2025, one Pankaj Tiwari and an ASHA worker were arrested for similar offenses, marking Sharma's group as the second operation involved in illegal testing.

"If a foetus is found to be female, they would take hefty sums to terminate the pregnancy. Their network operates across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi," said social activist Meena Sharma, adding that the accused and his agents conducted door-to-door sex determination tests, charging between Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 per test.Morena continues to face challenges with its sex ratio. The district's Chief Medical and Health Officer reported statistics showing improvement over time."As per the 2011 census, there were 840 females per 1,000 males in the district, compared to 822 in 2001. The situation remains alarming, with some villages reporting as low as 541 females per 1,000 males," he stated, noting that the ratio has now improved to 922 females per 1,000 males.

(With agency inputs)