Ban apps aiding in detection of sex of fetus: Civil surgeon writes to state govt

Pune: The latest sex-determination scandal in the district has exposed a fusion of technology and medical malpractice that demands urgent action. Now, district civil surgeon Dr Nagnath Yempalle has urged state govt to ban mobile apps that purportedly reveal fetal sex after investigators found a ring of practitioners using Chinese phone apps, portable sonography machines and door-to-door “services” to bypass legal safeguards.Yempalle said, “As fetal sex determination is being conducted via mobile apps, despite legal prohibition under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, I have written to govt to ban such mobile apps and take preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not occur in the future.”In the most recent case, the alleged ringleader is a Std XII dropout, who worked with an unethical BAMS practitioner. Up to 15 other suspected doctors conducted illicit scans in homes and fields with no records, as per officials. Yempalle said, “The medical superintendent of a rural hospital in Shirur, Dr Sachin Dnyaneshwar Dhas, along with the police were informed about an illegal prenatal sex determination test being conducted at ‘Life Care Clinic’. Senior police inspector Santosh Sonawane and a policewoman acted as decoy couple and contacted the agent involved. They were called to meet in Wagholi for a prenatal sex determination sonography.”He added, “To conduct a fetal sex determination test on the decoy patient, the man used a sonography probe machine and a mobile phone connected to the probe via Wi-Fi while the process was visible on an app. The suspect was immediately taken into custody and the materials used for the fetal sex determination and abortion were seized.”The senior official said technological advancements have made it difficult to keep a check on illicit activities. “While it is mandatory to register a sonography machine, portable machines that are illegal are out of our reach. Such portable machines and mobile apps have made it more difficult to track perpetrators. Women who want to undergo these processes are unregistered in our system for antenatal care (ANC) until the date of delivery. I have also instructed all medical superintendents in rural hospitals to conduct thorough inspection of all registered sonography centres. However, the problem is that such illicit activities do not take place in registered sonography centres. Portable machines and apps have miniaturized sex determination in the palm of the hand, so these activities take place inside homes or in fields,” Yempalle explained.