In Mahishala village of Kagawad taluk of Belagavi, Karnataka, the police have uncovered a female foeticide racket.

The parents of Swati, a 36-year-old woman from Maharashtra, had filed a complaint with the Miraj Police on Saturday, stating that her husband, Pravin Jamdade had forced her to abort her foetus after finding out that it was a girl.

When the Sangil police arrested him, they discovered a well-oiled machinery conducting illegal abortions.

It was revealed that Pravin had contacted a middleman in Belagavi’s Kagawad, who had informed him about Dr Babasaheb Kidrapure - the man who has been helping families get rid of girls before they’re even born.

“In the villages surrounding Kagawad including Aathani and Chikkodi, Dr Babasaheb had appointed middlemen who would bring in women for abortion of female foetuses. On arresting the husband, we obtained information that he ran a clinic called Bharati Hospital in Mahishala village, where he performed the procedures,” a police source said.

The Miraj police and Sangli SP, along with a few doctors from the Miraj government hospital raided Bharati Hospital on Saturday and seized equipment used for the abortions, along with the ultrasound equipment.

“A few registers and diaries were found in which Dr Babasaheb has recorded the previous procedures he performed and also the money paid for it. The minimum amount for one procedure was Rs 25,000, of which Rs 10,000 was given to the middlemen,” the police said.

“After further investigation, it was revealed that he buried the foetuses near a stormwater drain at a farm close to his clinic. Currently, 19 foetuses have been found in different bags and the excavation is in progress,” police added.

According to the police, Swati is from Manerajuri village in Miraj, Maharashtra. She already had two girl children and was 13 weeks pregnant when she died.

“Her husband Pravin did not want another girl child and got in touch with a middleman in Kagawad, who referred Pravin to Babasaheb. It is not surprising that Babasaheb was not a licensed doctor. On March 2, Pravin and Swati arrived at Bharati Hospital, where the procedure was conducted. She died during the procedure,” police added.

Swati’s body was taken back to Manerajuri village located in Maharashtra after which her parents filed a complaint with the Miraj police.

According to the death certificate, the cause of death is “due to haemorrhagic shock caused by rupture of tubal pregnancy.”