Giri was arrested on May 20. As Giri's link with Dr Jadhav was established, Dr Jadhav was arrested on May 24. As we probed further, more names of doctors have come forward. Now, at least 15 doctors are under our scannerA CLASS 12 passout posing as a doctor who allegedly used a portable sonography machine to carry out illegal sex determination at the homes of pregnant women — conducting an average 30 to 50 such cases every month and charging over Rs 50,000 per case — are among the startling details to have emerged from a Pune Rural police probe into an organised racket. What is even more shocking is that 15 doctors are now under the scanner for alleged female foeticide following sex determination carried out through the racket.In the probe that has begun from May 14 and is ongoing, the police have till now arrested the main accused Annasahabe Giri (43), a Class 12 passout and resident of Kedgaon in Daund taluka of Pune, and Dr Atul Jadhav, a doctor from Wagholi in Pune whose link with Giri has been established. Police have also booked two more doctors identified as Dr Sundaram Kadam and Dr Mandar Mali. Probe began after a government medical officer came across a video of a woman undergoing sonography for illegal sex determination. After the video was closely examined and prima facie illegality was confirmed, an offence was registered at Yavat police station under Pune Rural police under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.“Investigation revealed that Giri was allegedly using a portable sonography machine. Using word of mouth publicity, he used to come in contact with families wanting to do sex determination. He used to then go to the house of pregnant women where procedures were performed. And then if a girl foetus was detected he used to refer the patient to certain doctors for female foeticide. Giri was arrested on May 20. As Giri’s link with Dr Jadhav was established, Dr Jadhav was arrested on May 24. As we probed further, more names of doctors have come forward. Now, at least 15 doctors are under our scanner,” said Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural.“At this stage, we cannot definitively give the number of sex determination procedures and subsequent female foeticide performed through this racket. But we are collating the data, cross referencing it with technical leads. Questioning of the accused suggests that he used to do 30 to 50 such sex determinations a month and used to take around Rs 50,000 per case. He has been doing this for at least the last three years, probe suggests. He has done these procedures in not just Pune district but also some neighbouring districts. Dedicated teams are now probing the case and now in the process of establishing the linkages between middlemen, Giri who used to perform the procedures of sex determination, the medic or paramedic who did the female foeticide. We have also booked one Narendra Thakre of Kesnand in Pune, from whom Giri had procured the portable sonography machine,” said an officer from Pune Rural police.Another officer said, “Probe has revealed that the portable sonography machine Giri used can be linked to a phone and display of the examination can be relayed to the phone screen through an app on the phone. We have seized that machine. We have reasons to believe that Giri learnt these practices from a doctor in Satara district who has been arrested in the past in the PCPNDT case. After passing Class 12, Giri had taken admission to a pharmacy course but dropped out. He then did some small jobs such as an ayurvedic medical salesman and also worked for an insurance company before turning to this.”Police have till now questioned 15 witnesses in the case and their statements are being recorded before a court. “We have obtained the bank statements and call data records of the accused and further probe is on.” an officer said. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our storiesTags:pune