Another quack arrested from Civil lines for illegally terminating pregnancies

Gurugram: Police on Thursday night arrested two more people from Gagandeep Complex in Civil Lines’ Baraf Khana for their alleged involvement in carrying out illegal termination of pregnancy by impersonating as doctor.

Four such quacks have been arrested in the district in the past two days, police said on Friday.

The suspects arrested on Thursday were identified as Ram Parkash Goel, 44, and Sachin (goes by first name), 27 -- residents of Civil Lines and XXX. Goel had studied for a diploma in pharmacy (D Pharma) and Sachin XXX.

Sachin allegedly supplied medicines to Goel illegally, without any bill from Delhi.

A health department team led by Gurugram deputy civil surgeon, Dr Pardeep Kumar, trapped both the quacks by sending a woman as a decoy on Thursday night, who told Goel she wished to get her pregnancy terminated. Goel then contacted Sachin over the phone for MTP kits comprising medicines to terminate pregnancy, and handed it over to the woman for ₹500.

Police caught Goel and Sachin red-handed, and arrested him, said officials.

Officials of the health department acted against Goel after getting a tip that he was allegedly impersonating as a doctor and terminating pregnancies illegally.

An FIR was registered against both the suspects under Section 15(2) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956; sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971; sections 18A, 18B, 18C and 27 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; and sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said the police.

This was the third such raid in Gurugram in the past two days.

On Wednesday night, police arrested Sandeep Kumar, 28, and Khalid Hussain, 29, two locations in Badshahpur for their alleged involvement in illegally terminating pregnancies by impersonating as doctors.

A press statement issued by the Gurugram administration on Thursday said that “such joint raids would continue to fulfil the resolution set forth by the state health minister, Anil Vij, of increasing the sex ratio of Haryana from XXX to 950”.

Police said Goel’s shop -- City Medicos -- located inside the complex was also sealed by Maan on Thursday as the suspect did not have a licence and for selling pregnancy termination drugs and was not a registered practitioner.

A senior police officer privy to the cases said, “It is part of the investigation if women who illegally determined sex of their unborn child also approached them or not.”

According to police, Goel and Sachin were granted bail on Thursday midnight as their illegal activities attracted imprisonment of less than seven years as per the Supreme Court guidelines. Kumar and Hussain were also granted bail on similar grounds.

Gurugram police proactive enforcement (PRO), Subhash Boken, said, “Further investigation is underway.”