Abortion racket exposed: Class 12 pass youth ran illegal sex determination network

• Bought equipment online, trained via YouTube; midc cidco police used decoy couple

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A new illegal sex determination and abortion racket has been busted during the Naregaon case probe.

Police arrested Rahul Jhond (26, Mayur Park), former driver of Dr Satish Sonawane, and his associate Somnath Parsaram Barase (31, New Hanuman Nagar, Kamalapur Square), was arrested on Friday, informed senior police inspector Somnath Jadhav.

On March 7, a 26-year-old woman underwent illegal sex determination and abortion at her Naregaon home by a group including Dr Santosh Sonawane, nurse from Kamal Tingote, and lab operator Anil Jadhav (Sapkal). The case surfaced after her father raised concerns. On March 13, her husband Arbaaz Syed and in-laws Aasiya and Feroz Syed were arrested (all residents of Baloch Galli, Naregaon). A ward boy, Shankar Adhav, who identified and linked pregnant women to the network, was also held. MIDC Cidco police uncovered that after the arrest of Dr. Satish Sonawane,

Racket origins

Dr Satish Sonawane had built a wider network across Marathwada involving medical staff and agents. After his 2023 arrest, Jhond his driver started his own racket with support from a network member. He bought a portable machine and tablet for Rs 1 lakh and learned procedures via YouTube, using old contacts. Barase joined him.

Police action

Acting on a tip-off,police inspector Somnath Jadhav and assistant police inspector Kailas Lahane sent a decoy couple. Jhond demanded Rs 25,000 and called them to Pisadevi, where he and his aide were caught by a team including Ganesh Doiphode, Devidas Kale, Mukund Sonawane, Gauri Bhandari, Nadeem Pathan, and Suvarna Lakhulkar. Equipment was seized. After a municipal medical panchnama, both accused were arrested and remanded to seven days of police custody.