India: Doctor arrested for ‘female feticide’

Police in India have arrested the owner of a clinic near Delhi on suspicion of illegally aborting female fetuses. 

The arrest followed a raid at the clinic in Gurgaon in Haryana state. Officials say the remains of several fotuses were found in a well nearby.

The chief medical officer of Gurgaon district, SS Dalal, said the raid on the clinic, the Buella Nursing Home, followed a written complaint that illegal abortions were being carried out there.  A team of health experts went to the clinic late on Wednesday evening with one of the members posing as an ordinary patient. Health officials say the search for more fetus remains is continuing.

India, where boys have traditionally been favoured over girls, banned gender selection and selective abortion in 1994.

Police say clinic owner Dr AK Singh faces a number of charges. His son told Reuters news agency he was innocent. ‘Everything is political,’ he said.

Medic held for ‘female foeticide’, BBC News, 14 June 2007

Read on:

India: Sex selection controversy continues. Abortion Review, 26 May 2006