Illegal foetal sex determination racket busted in Maharashtra's Jalna; two held

Police in Maharashtrarsquos Jalna district have uncovered an illegal foetal sex determination and abortion racket being run out of a cattle shed and arrested two persons officials said on ThursdayThe accused include a local pathology lab owner and a Class 12 pass youth both of whom were caught redhanded on Wednesday while conducting sex determination tests officials said According to police neither of them is a qualified doctor news agency PTI reportedActing on a tipoff a joint team of police and health department personnel raided the premises which had been set up inside a cattle shed in a field at Nanja Wadi village in Bhokardan tehsil an official addedThe two accused were caught conducting sex determination tests During the raid three women were also found waiting for tests he saidThe authorities seized some medical testing material a portable machine abortion pills and mobile phones from the site the official saidAccording to police the clandestine operation of foetal sex determination and illegal abortion had been running for several months inside the tinshed cattle enclosure located adjacent to a Zilla Parishad school in the Gawliwadi area of the villageAs per PTI the main accused identified as Satish Sonawane is a Class 12 pass and hails from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district He already has similar cases registered against him in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Beed and Jalna districts the official saidBesides Sonawane the police also arrested Keshav Gawande the owner of the Tejas Pathology Lab located in Bhokardan tehsil of Jalna district he saidThe accused had shifted the sex determination facility to the cattle shed to avoid public attention and had been operating it for six months the official saidEarlier in July 2024 authorities found an illegal abortion centre in Bhokardan tehsil and arrested 28 persons including doctors from Jalna and Buldhana districtsThane police shut illegal game zone owner and two operators arrestedIn another such incident Police in Maharashtrarsquos Thane district have shut down an illegally run game zone and arrested its owner along with two operators after discovering serious safety violations officials said on ThursdayDeputy Commissioner of Police Zone III Atul Zende stated that acting on a tipoff officers inspected the game zone on Chinchpada Road in Kalyan on Tuesday Inside they found several minor boys and girls playing on eight computers A closed private room on the ground floor was also discovered which lacked adequate lighting ventilation fire safety measures and CCTV surveillance reported news agency PTIFollowing the inspection police registered a case against the owner and operators under sections 125 acts endangering life or personal safety of others and 35 common intention of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita All three were subsequently arrestedAuthorities confirmed that the gaming centre was operating without proper authorisation and have ordered it to be shut down as per PTIThe incident comes nearly a year after a major fire at a gaming zone in Rajkot Gujarat in May 2024 which resulted in 27 fatalitiesWith PTI inputs