K’taka female foeticide scam handed over to CID; action must be taken against those who involved in female foeticide, says Health Minister

K’taka female foeticide scam handed over to CID; action must be taken against those who involved in female foeticide, says Health MinisterDecember 1, 2023Bengaluru, Dec 1 (IANS) The Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday handed over investigation of the female foeticide scam to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has taken the decision and conveyed it to the State Home Minister G. Parameshwara over the phone to complete the formalities, said the official statement from the Chief Minister’s office. Meanwhile, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said that the dereliction of duty by certain officers is evident and ordered suspension of the Taluk health officer Rajeshwari and Ravi, who worked as the District Health Officer in Mysuru district. Minister Rao visited the jaggery manufacturing centre which was turned into a scanning centre to conduct sex determination test by the accused in Hullenahalli village of Mandya district on Thursday. He also visited the Mata hospital in Mysuru city where the abortions were conducted. “Detection of gender is the worst form of cruelty. We have taken the case seriously. The public needs to be educated on this. The Health Department and the Police Department would have worked together meticulously in this case,” he said. “The irresponsibility of the officers is clearly visible at the outset. We will form a programme to initiate strict measures across the state. Those who are involved in this must get severe punishment. Thousands of abortions have taken place. The people should fear getting the abortion done. There is a huge gap in gender ratio in the state. Society must change. If they are coming all the way to a place like this for scanning gender, there is a need to create awareness,” the Minister added. “The investigation in connection with the case had been handed over to the CID. The Health Department will fully cooperate with the investigation. The action must be taken against those who indulge in female foeticide,” he said. Following the female foeticide scam that shocked the state, the Karnataka government had convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation and initiate action. The investigation into the foeticide scam that recently came to light in Bengaluru has led to shocking revelations that the accused had aborted 3,000 female foetuses so far. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand had said that the investigations have shown that the accused had carried out 3,000 abortions so far and in the last three months itself, 242 female foetuses were killed. The accused had set a target of 1,000 abortions per year to mint money as they charged anywhere between Rs 20,000 to 25,000 per termination of pregnancy. The scam came to light when Byappanahalli police, on October 15, tried to stop a vehicle moving suspiciously. The vehicle’s driver did not stop and had to be chased by the police before being caught. During interrogation, the accused admitted about the abortion racket following which the police have arrested nine people till now, including two doctors and three lab technicians, for their involvement in the nefarious activity. The probe also revealed that sex determination tests were done at a jaggery production unit in Mandya district where the accused had set up a laboratory and related facilities, and abortions were conducted in the Mata hospital of Mysuru.–IANSmka/khz