Govt doctor arrested in Arvi abortion racket case

Nagpur: Wardha police on Saturday arrested Dr Neeraj Kadam, a gynaecologist with a government hospital, for his alleged role in the illegal abortion racket at Arvi-based Kadam Hospital. Dr Neeraj, posted at Arvi government hospital, is the husband of Dr Rekha Kadam, who has been arrested earlier, and son of co-accused Dr Shailaja Kadam.
A joint investigation team of cops and a special committee constituted by the civil surgeon also seized substantial expired medicines, like Mala D, which is used for contraception, and hormonal drug Oxytocin, during a search at Kadam Hospital, said a police source.So far, 53 bones and 12 skulls of babies, a bag of blood, and a deer skin have been seized from the controversial hospital. Police have also seized the sonography machine from the place.
After the shocking exposure of the illegal abortion clinic and hospital run by the Kadam family and their staffers, more irregularities have now come to fore.
It’s learnt the validity of the sonography centre operated by Dr Shailaja, Dr Rekha and Dr Neeraj had expired in January 2021. Fresh questions have been raised on the validity of the degree of Dr Rekha, who is learnt to have completed her medical education and post-graduation from Chhattisgarh. Police and special committee members are now trying to verify whether Dr Rekha’s degree enabled her to practice abortion in Maharashtra.
Police sources have also underlined the fact that Dr Rekha did not have requisite permission from the civil surgeon to conduct abortions. Her mother-in-law Dr Shailaja, now admitted at an ICU at a Nagpur hospital claiming ill-health, is learnt to have permission to conduct abortions in pregnancies upto 12 weeks only, said police sources.
SP Prashant Holkar, supervising the investigation under IG Cherring Dorje, said police are investigating two FIRs registered so far. “We are closely probing the rape case and related issues along with the FIR registered by the forest department,” he said.
It’s learnt the district administration, which had constituted the special committee under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT), is likely to submit it’s report too to the police, which may lead to yet another FIR in the case. The committee, in presence of police, had conducted a joint search at the operation theatre and the sonography centre at Kadam Hospital on Saturday, following which many documents and samples of medicines and drugs were seized.
The racket was exposed after a 13-year-old girl lodged a rape case against her 17-year-old boyfriend and his parents for compelling her to undergo an abortion in the first week of January.