Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Driven by greed for money and crossing all limits of humanity, a Class 10-pass couple in Rasheedpura had set up a ‘mini operation theatre’ inside their residence, complete with medicines and surgical instruments, and was running an illegal abortion racket. This inhuman activity, which had been going on for the past five years while endangering the lives of women in severe pain, was exposed in a police operation on Monday.
This is the third abortion racket uncovered in the city within two months. The couple involved in the illegal abortions had been repeatedly changing houses in the same locality over the past five years.
The accused arrested include Syed Irshad Ahmed Syed Gani (61), Shaheda Parveen Syed Irshad Ahmed (51), both residents of Rasheedpura; Nasreen Nazeer Shaikh (47, Azad Chowk); and Meenakshi Mangesh Thorat (35, resident of Samarth Residency, Honajinagar). Meenakshi’s husband, Mangesh Sukhdev Thorat, is absconding.
The commissioner of police (CP) Praveen Pawar had received information that abortions were being carried out in Rasheedpura for the past few months. Acting on his instructions, police inspector Gajanan Kalyankar and PSI Arjun Kadam planned a trap. On Monday evening, Kadam, along with ‘Damini’ squad’s PSI Kanchan Mirdhe, constables Nirmala Nimbhore, Sarita Kundare, and Rani Kedar, raided Shaheda’s house. Inside, a 24-year-old married woman, who had come for an abortion, was found writhing in pain. The abortion procedure had been started just minutes before the police arrived, after administering medication. She was immediately shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) by police in an ambulance. Municipal health officials were also called to the spot.
Three arrested, Meenakshi taken into custody from lab
Syed Irshad initially resisted the police. However, after being restrained, he ran inside the house and informed his wife about the police presence. Subsequently, Shaheda Parveen and Nasreen Shaikh were arrested.
During interrogation, it emerged that Mangesh Thorat and his wife Meenakshi (35), owners of Betel Diagnostic Path Lab in N-5 Cidco and Palshi, were referring pregnant women to them after conducting tests. Following this, City Chowk Police immediately arrested Meenakshi from N-5 lab. The victim’s mother, who had accompanied her, was also named as an accused in the case.
Police custody till 5 May
Senior Police Inspector Nirmala Pardeshi, assistant PI Manoj Shinde, produced Syed Irshad, Shaheda Parveen, Nasreen Shaikh, and Meenakshi Thorat before the court on Tuesday at around 5.30 pm. Assistant public prosecutor Pallavi Deshmukh argued for police custody. After hearing both sides, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) D S Upadhyay remanded the accused to police custody till May 5.
Sonography reports and Rs 15,000 transaction found
Police recovered several sonography reports of women patients from the house in Rasheedpura. The mobile phone contained contact numbers of more than 15 agents. It was also revealed via social media that the victim had sent a sonography report provided by Meenakshi and Mangesh Thorat and transferred Rs 15,000 as advance payment for the abortion.
‘Mini operation theatre’ set up in house; equipment seized
Shaheda had set up a ‘mini operation theatre’ inside a luxurious four-room flat. A stock of abortion pills, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, was recovered. The first pill prevents continuation of pregnancy, while Misoprostol induces uterine contractions to expel the foetus. Medical instruments such as forceps, tools to clamp blood vessels, uterine measurement devices, syringes, stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, sonography probe, injection sets for delivery, pain-relief injections, IV catheters, cotton packs, gloves, and drugs used to induce uterine contractions were also seized.
Accused escapes near Salim Ali Lake
Mangesh Thorat, who used to send women for tests after conducting examinations at Betel Diagnostic Path Lab, was seen near Salim Ali Lake when the raid took place. He absconded immediately after learning about the police action. The victim’s mother, who had been sent to the hospital, also fled from there.