Hyderabad: An infant trafficking case in Aug opened the lid on sex determination rackets in Kamareddy. A couple of months ago, a woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy informed her relatives that she terminated her pregnancy due to pressure exerted by her husband. One of her relatives, suspicious of the situation, alerted Kamareddy police.
When police began investigating, they found that the woman gave birth to a baby girl who was sold to a couple without children. While probing this case, police stumbled upon the role of Siddiramulu and Praveen in facilitating human trafficking. Police said that they came to know that Siddiramulu and a few others were allegedly running the illegal sex determination racket.
Cops came to that 38-year-old B Ravinder from Rajampet village was also in the illegal business of assisting pregnant women in sex determination.
Ravinder, though not a qualified person, learnt the procedure to use ultrasound sonography (USG) to test a patient, while working in a hospital. After this hospital was shut down by the authorities due to alleged illegal activities, Ravinder decided to launch his own business by illegally offering sex determination services.
“Since he earlier worked in a hospital, he developed contacts with medical equipment sellers. Ravinder knew Samson, who sold second-hand medical equipment. From Samson, he illegally bought a used USG and started the service,” Kamareddy superintendent of police Sindhu Sharma said.
Police suspect that Ravinder conducted hundreds of sex determination tests in the last two years. When he was questioned, police realised that it was an organised network in which some RMPs were also involved. Pregnant women receiving treatment from RMPs were introduced to Ravinder to determine the sex of their unborn child. Police found at least 15 RMPs were in touch with Ravinder.
Fifteen days ago, Ravinder, Samson, and two RMPs were arrested by Kamareddy police. While probing this case further, police discovered other illegal centres offering sex determination tests and apprehended five persons on Friday in Kamareddy.
