Terming the Health department’s action against the doctors under the PNDT Act as ‘erroneous’, Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said the department should not recommend police action against the doctors merely on the basis of incomplete record.
The IMA officer bearers said innocent doctors were being booked under the PNDT Act just to achieve the target hence it can not be described as ‘justified’. They have also threatened to raise the issue at State-level if the department does not stop this ‘unfair’ practice against the ‘innocent’ doctors. Notably, over a dozen doctor in Rohtak and Jhajjar district have so far been booked under the PNDT Act after the Health department raided their nursing homes and ultrasound centres under its special drive in the last fortnight.
While interacting with mediapersons here, Dr Rakesh Garg, district secretary of the IMA, said criminal cases under the PNDT Act had frequently been booked against the doctors on unjustified ground for last some time. “All paper record of ultrasound centres and nursing homes is usually checked and verified by a team of civil hospital in regular interval. Ultrasound machines are sealed by the team if it finds any irregularity in the record keeping but this time doctors are being booked without any justified base,” said Garg.
The doctors running nursing homes and ultrasound centres in the district were panicked due to this ‘erroneous’ practice of the Health Department, he added. Meanwhile, Dr Ramesh Dhankhar, Jhajjar Civil Surgeon, said “There is a provision under Sections 4 and 5 of the PNDT Act to book a police case against the doctor if any irregularity is established in the record.”
He maintained the doctors were leveling false allegations against the Department officials who were discharging their duty honestly to check the female foeticide. The action against the doctors was being taken as per law, he added.