A 26-year-old woman has died after allegedly being subjected to illegal abortion by two nurses at Venkatapura under Bagepalli police limits in Chickballapur district. The abortion was allegedly preceded by a sex-determination test — banned under law — which showed that she was carrying a female foetus.
The police said the deceased was Radhamma, an anganwadi worker at Venkatapura. She was in the sixth month of pregnancy. Ms. Radhamma and her husband Narasimhappa have three daughters. When Ms. Radhamma conceived again, the couple decided against having a fourth child after they learnt that she was carrying a female foetus.
Ms. Radhamma approached Susheelamma, a staff nurse at the Government Hospital in Bagepalli. The nurse allegedly demanded Rs. 8,000 to carry out the abortion at her (Ms. Susheelamma’s) residence and finally settled for Rs. 4,400.
When Ms. Radhamma developed complications during the process, including severe bleeding and backache, the nurse took her to the latter’s relative. Later, another nurse, identified by the police as Ramamani, joined Ms. Susheelamma to treat Ms. Radhamma. They shifted Ms. Radhamma to the Government Hospital in Bagepalli as her condition worsened on Wednesday. There the doctors advised them to take the woman to the District Government Hospital in Chickballapur.
The doctors at the district hospital, however, declared Ms. Radhamma as brought dead on Wednesday night. Both the nurses are absconding.
The Bagepalli police have filed a case based on a complaint by Ms. Radhamma’s mother, Gangamma. Two teams had been formed to track the accused, sub-inspector of police V. Munireddy told The Hindu on Friday. Efforts were being made to track the clinic where the woman underwent the sex-determination test, Mr. Munireddy said.
Activists feel that the government is yet to put in place an effective mechanism to implement the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994. Vasudhara Bhupathi, former member of the PC and PNDT Bangalore District Advisory Committee, said district-level monitoring committees, which play a crucial role in preventing sex determination and foeticide, were yet to be formed in Karnataka.
As per 2011 Census, Karnataka’s child sex ratio (between 0 to 6 years) is 943 per 1,000 males and has decreased from 946 in the 2001 Census.
