Three arrested in Cuddalore district for conducting prenatal sex determination

SALEM: Health department officials from Salem district and the Cuddalore district police arrested three people, including two women, on Tuesday on charges of conducting prenatal sex determination.

The arrested have been identified as S Thennarasu, 32, D Saira Begam, 32, and K Nallammal, 32. All of them are residents of Veppur X Road in Cuddalore district.

Acting on a tip-off, Salem district collector R Brindha Devi formed a team of health department officials, led by joint director of medical services Dr S P Nandhini and district health officer of Attur health unit district (HUD) N Yogananth, to conduct a decoy operation.

"The team began tracking a pregnant woman from Salem who was heading to Veppur X Road for sex determination of her fetus," the collector said. The team surrounded the suspects while they were examining another pregnant woman on their premises around 3pm.

The health department team informed the Veppur police, who arrived at the scene and arrested the three individuals. The team seized an ultrasound machine used for sex determination and abortifacient pills.

Attur health officer Yogananth told TOI that the police would produce the trio in a court on Wednesday.