Bengaluru: A preliminary investigation performed by the state well being division officers has revealed a staggering surge in feminine foeticide throughout Mandya district, the place over 6,000 Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) kits have been offered on the black market at inflated costs within the final one 12 months, officers acquainted with the matter stated.

According to Assistant Drug Controller M Khalid, between January 1, 2023 and December 12, 2023, a staggering 6,626 MTP kits had been offered throughout 12 wholesale drug shops within the district. These kits, containing mifepristone and misoprostol tablets with a face worth of ₹440, had been discovered to have been offered at a surprising markup reaching as much as ₹1,000-2,000 per equipment, he added.

Investigators attribute the surge in feticide instances within the district to the unlawful sale of those kits with out the requisite physician’s session card.

Khalid stated aside from the 12 wholesale drug shops, MTP kits had been additionally being illicitly traded in smaller drug outlets throughout the district. “Out of a total 30 wholesale drug stores, only 12 have reported the sale of these kits, prompting the health department to issue notices to the remaining 18 vendors. The estimated sale of over 15,000 kits underscores the gravity of the situation, with further investigation needed to ascertain the full extent of the illegal trade,” he added.

A well being division official conscious of the event stated the probe report instructed strict measures to curb the apply, recommending that wholesale and retail drug shops ought to furnish a physician’s session card and invoice of sale for every MTP equipment offered, failing which they need to be held accountable for feticide instances.

Mandya district well being officer Okay Mohan advised HT: “Investigation into allegations of feticide is ongoing, with close monitoring of the activities of wholesale drug sellers and retailers. As a preventive measure, MTP kits are being closely regulated by the health department to curb the alarming trend of female feticide in Mandya.”

However, individuals acquainted with the matter stated, individuals at the moment are sourcing MTP kits from neighbouring districts, posing a contemporary problem for authorities.

On October 15 final 12 months, a large-scale feminine feticide racket, being carried out by medical doctors and brokers, was uncovered at a farm home in Mandya.

During a routine inspection, Byappanahalli police encountered a suspicious automobile, by which a pregnant lady confessed to having undergone a intercourse willpower take a look at. Subsequently, 4 males, suspected members of a feminine foeticide ring, had been apprehended.

After an intensive two-month investigation, Bengaluru police arrested 9 individuals, together with two medical doctors, who revealed a staggering 242 situations of feminine foeticide over three months.

The probe concerned scrutiny of the decision element data of the 4 detained suspects, main investigators to villages in Mandya and Mysuru districts. This path finally uncovered Matha Hospital in Mysuru and its alleged mastermind, Dr Chandan Ballal, together with accomplices.

Brokers facilitated connections between the hospital receptionist, Rizma, and pregnant girls in search of intercourse willpower and abortion providers. The modus operandi concerned directing shoppers to a transformed jaggery processing unit in Mandya, serving as an ultrasound scan centre, with subsequent referrals to Matha Hospital for abortions if the foetus was feminine.

Regarding Matha Hospital’s operations, it got here to gentle that Dr Ballal, in collaboration with Dr Tulasiram, allegedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme involving exorbitant costs for abortions and intercourse willpower, leading to transactions exceeding ₹2 crore through the years.

After the October incident, the well being division tightened norms and issued a round to all well being officers within the district to arrange activity forces and verify unlawful clinics and scanning centres.

“We are visiting every drug distributor shop in Mandya district and collecting details of MTPs distributed to various retail medical shops,” Mandya district assistant drug controller Dr M Khalid advised HT.

He stated an investigation is underway and we are going to discover out precisely what number of MTPs are offered within the district in two days as we accumulate information from druggists. He stated if any medical shops are discovered responsible of promoting the kits with out the prescriptions of medical doctors, we are going to provoke extreme motion and even advocate cancelling licences.

Since the final three months, the Health Department in Karnataka has ramped up its efforts to crack down on unlawful medical institutions, uncovering a staggering 1,093 clinics working with out correct authorization throughout varied components of the state.

The initiative is available in response to alarming instances of foetal intercourse willpower exams and feminine foeticide reported in several areas final 12 months. Complaints flooded the division concerning the operation of clinics with out the required licences, registrations, and {qualifications}.

In gentle of those issues, authorities directed a concerted effort to take motion towards unauthorised remedy centres underneath the purview of the Karnataka Private Medical Institutions Regulation Act (KPME).

As a outcome, by the conclusion of the earlier 12 months, the detection of faux clinics had gained momentum, with a complete of 1,775 unlicensed practitioners recognized. Under the KPME Act, it’s necessary for all non-public medical establishments within the state to be duly registered. However, quite a few institutions have been discovered offering medical providers with out the requisite registration. Furthermore, many of those practitioners lack the required {qualifications} to apply drugs, but they function clinics and laboratories unofficially.

A devoted group of well being division officers has been conducting thorough inspections of such institutions, revealing that almost all of the clinics recognized throughout these raids had been working with out correct licences.