Following allegations of harassment by the Bengaluru Rural District Family Welfare Officer towards the jurisdictional District Health Officer (DHO) with regard to investigation into the feminine foeticide case in two hospitals, the State Health Department has ordered a probe into the problem.

The Bengaluru Rural District Family Welfare Officer S R Manjunath has alleged that the DHO Sunil Kumar has been harassing him for persevering with investigation and registering circumstances towards two non-public hospitals in Hoskote and Nelamangala taluks which have been accused of working a intercourse willpower racket. 

In December, the Bengaluru police unearthed a prenatal intercourse willpower racket throughout Bengaluru, Mandya, and Mysuru districts. They arrested a health care provider and his lab technician, who allegedly carried out round 900 unlawful abortions within the final three years. The State authorities had, within the first week of January, constituted a Task Force for PCPNDT Act implementation below the chairmanship of the Health Commissioner

Letter to Commissioner

Complaining in regards to the harassment, Dr Manjunath (who can be the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques nodal officer within the district), wrote to State Health Commissioner Randeep D. on March 20. In his capability because the district PCPNDT nodal officer, Dr Manjunath had registered FIRs towards SPG Hospital in Hoskote and Asare Hospital in Nelamangala, accusing them of working prenatal intercourse willpower rackets.

In the letter, Dr Manjunath sought permission to go on go away as Dr Kumar was not permitting him to discharge his duties with regard to the investigation into the intercourse willpower racket. He additionally knowledgeable the Commissioner that he was working below excessive stress.

Prior to this, Dr Kumar wrote a letter to the Commissioner on March 19 interesting him to switch Dr Manjunath on the grounds that “his report regarding the two hospitals was not factually correct and that he was not properly discharging his duties.”

Panel to analyze

Acknowledging the letters, Mr Randeep advised The Hindu {that a} three-member committee headed by Reproductive Child Health (RCH) Project Director, Deputy Director (PCPNDT) and Deputy Director (Family Welfare) has been set as much as examine the allegations. The committee has been requested to look into the allegations of each the docs in addition to the violation of PCPNDT Act by the 2 hospitals talked about above and submit its report by March 26, he stated.