Two hospitals seized in Mysuru; 900 abortions in two years; one doctor absconding  

Mysore/Mysuru: Continuing its investigation into the sex determination racket exposed in October, the Byappanahalli Police in Bengaluru have arrested eight individuals associated with determining the sex of foetuses and aborting female foetuses.  Prime accused in the racket, owner of Mathaa Hospital at Udayagiri in Mysuru Dr. Chandan Ballal (seen extreme left in pic above) is on the run now. Those arrested are 41-year-old Dr. Tulasiraman, a Chennai-based doctor, manager of Mathaa Hospital 38-year-old C.M. Meena, wife of Dr. Chandan Ballal, hospital receptionist and a resident of Mandi Mohalla 38-year-old Rizma Khanum, and lab technician Nissar. 

When the racket was busted, the Police had arrested 50-year-old Shivalingegowda, alias Shivu, from Mysuru, 36-year-old Nayan Kumar, 36, from Mandya district, 35-year-old T.M. Veeresh from Davanagere district and 43-year-old Naveen Kumar, from Mandya district.

Over 900 abortions in two years

The group allegedly operated for the past two years in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mandya areas in an organised manner. The group has aborted over 900 female foetuses in the last two years.  Police have seized Mathaa Hospital at Udayagiri and Ayurvedic Piles Daycare Centre on Rajkumar Road in Mysuru, where abortions were conducted. The group charged Rs 25,000 to determine sex of the foetus and Rs. 25,000 to abort it.

The Bengaluru Police, on Oct. 15, 2023, uncovered foeticide practices that spread from Chennai to Mysuru. This practice came to light when a car attempted to escape a routine check at Old Madras Road.

The Police intercepted the car and found two men and one pregnant woman in it. The Police confronted them and questioned the woman, who reportedly said that they had gone to a makeshift lab in Mandya where a scan was done to determine the sex of her foetus. 

The Police arrested five persons and further investigation revealed that they were operating for two years in Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru carrying out around 20 sex-determination tests and abortions per month.

Portable ultrasound machine

One of the accused Veeresh told the Police that he and his group of men target pregnant women who don’t want a female child and they use a portable ultrasound machine to detect the gender of the embryo in pregnant women. If they find the foetus is a female child, they will direct the pregnant woman to Dr. Tulasiraman for an abortion. He also said that he would get a commission of Rs. 10,000 for directing each pregnant woman for abortion and revealed that his team had scanned at least 720 pregnant women.

Dr. Tulasiraman is a paediatrician from Chennai and the Police also found that Dr. Tulasiraman contacted Dr. Chandran Ballal to perform foeticide. Dr. Ballal and his wife had performed abortions for many women at the now seized Mathaa Hospital in Mysuru. Three years ago, Dr. Tulasiraman sold his hospital to Dr. Ballal. The doctors coordinated through Ballal’s receptionist, Rizma Khanum and Dr. Ballal conducted the procedures at his hospital and Ayurvedic Piles Daycare Centre in Mysuru.

Tests at sugarcane farm

Shivalingegowda had worked in laboratories and Veeresh worked with Dr. Mallikarjun, who is his uncle. Nayan Kumar and Naveen Kumar would identify pregnant women who wanted to know the sex of their foetuses.

One of the accused has a sugarcane farm in Mandya and that there is a jaggery processing unit (alemane) within the farm where they conducted the tests. They have set up all necessary equipment there to conduct the tests.

Police are yet to ascertain where the scanning machine was sourced from. The accused have claimed that they got an old scanning machine repaired. To procure and also to dispose of the scanning machine, one needs permission and they should have a record of it.

All from middle-class families

The Police are looking into the potential involvement of Shivalingegowda’s wife, Sunanda. She is suspected of approaching pregnant women and informing them about the illegal sex-determination facility. Her reach reportedly extended to women in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Davanagere, Mandya and other parts of the State through friends and relatives.

The Police have identified seven women, all from middle-class families, who have undergone such tests. They said notices were issued to the women. Of these, one woman gave birth to her second girl child and aborted the pregnancy as she wanted a son. The others were first-time mothers and aborted their pregnancy after learning that they were carrying female children.

The five accused have been booked under the Prohibition of Sex Selection Act and under Indian Penal Code sections 511 (attempts to commit offences which is punishable with any imprisonment) and 312 (whoever voluntarily causes a woman with child to miscarry).