The accused include a local pathology lab owner and a Class 12 pass youth, both of whom were caught red-handed on Wednesday while conducting sex determination tests, officials said. According to police, neither of them is a qualified doctor
The accused had shifted the sex determination facility to the cattle shed to avoid public attention. Representational Pic
Police in Maharashtra’s Jalna district have uncovered an illegal foetal sex determination and abortion racket being run out of a cattle shed and arrested two persons, officials said on Thursday.
The accused include a local pathology lab owner and a Class 12 pass youth, both of whom were caught red-handed on Wednesday while conducting sex determination tests, officials said. According to police, neither of them is a qualified doctor, news agency PTI reported.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of police and health department personnel raided the premises, which had been set up inside a cattle shed in a field at Nanja Wadi village in Bhokardan tehsil, an official added.
The two accused were caught conducting sex determination tests. During the raid, three women were also found waiting for tests, he said.
The authorities seized some medical testing material, a portable machine, abortion pills and mobile phones from the site, the official said.
According to police, the clandestine operation of foetal sex determination and illegal abortion had been running for several months inside the tin-shed cattle enclosure, located adjacent to a Zilla Parishad school in the Gawliwadi area of the village.
As per PTI, the main accused, identified as Satish Sonawane, is a Class 12 pass and hails from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. He already has similar cases registered against him in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed and Jalna districts, the official said.
Besides Sonawane, the police also arrested Keshav Gawande, the owner of the Tejas Pathology Lab, located in Bhokardan tehsil of Jalna district, he said.
The accused had shifted the sex determination facility to the cattle shed to avoid public attention and had been operating it for six months, the official said.
Earlier, in July 2024, authorities found an illegal abortion centre in Bhokardan tehsil and arrested 28 persons, including doctors, from Jalna and Buldhana districts.
Thane police shut illegal game zone; owner and two operators arrested
In another such incident, Police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have shut down an illegally run game zone and arrested its owner along with two operators after discovering serious safety violations, officials said on Thursday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III) Atul Zende stated that, acting on a tip-off, officers inspected the game zone on Chinchpada Road in Kalyan on Tuesday. Inside, they found several minor boys and girls playing on eight computers. A closed private room on the ground floor was also discovered, which lacked adequate lighting, ventilation, fire safety measures, and CCTV surveillance, reported news agency PTI.
Following the inspection, police registered a case against the owner and operators under sections 125 (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. All three were subsequently arrested.
Authorities confirmed that the gaming centre was operating without proper authorisation and have ordered it to be shut down, as per PTI.
The incident comes nearly a year after a major fire at a gaming zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, in May 2024, which resulted in 27 fatalities.
(With PTI inputs)
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