In Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, a 24-year-old woman, named Kiran Kumari, died after she was forced by her husband to undergo an abortion, followed by an illegal sex determination test. As per the police, the abortion was carried out illegally after the sex determination test revealed the foetus was female, while Kiran’s husband and his family wanted a son.
The police have arrested Kiran’s husband, who is the operator of a private diagnostic centre, along with the owner of the diagnostic centre where the sex determination test was carried out and another of its staff member, and a nurse. The sex determination test was carried out at the Central Diagnostic Centre in Shyamdih, following which Kiran was taken to a private clinic at Shyamdih Chowk. In his complaint, Kiran’s father, Rajendra Kumar Kewat, alleged that her husband, Sonu Kewat, and her in-laws wanted a male child, and hence, forced her to undergo the test. And as soon as they got to know that the foetus in Kiran’s womb was female, she was pushed to undergo an abortion.
During the procedure, Kiran’s condition started deteriorating due to excessive bleeding, after this, when she was taken to a hospital for treatment, the doctors there declared her dead. Following their initial probe, the police are suspecting that the abortion procedure was performed improperly, in the absence of a qualified professional.
The police have arrested Kiran’s husband, Sonu Kewat; Sachin Kumar Kewat, the operator of the Central Diagnostic Centre; Vijay Goswami, another member of the staff at the diagnostic centre; and Sulochana Devi, a nurse working at the Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital (SNMMCH). The four accused have been sent to judicial custody.
Other people named in the complaint filed by Kiran’s father, who are her mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law, along with other people associated with the diagnostic centre, laboratory technicians, and doctors, are now being pursued by the police.
