Gender Determination Test Racket: Civil Surgeon comes under Vigilance Bureau scanner

Ludhiana, July 12

Ludhiana Civil Surgeon Jasbir Singh Aulakh has come under the scanner of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) in a gender determination test racket.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau in a significant development has arrested four individuals comprising a joint Pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques (PCPNDT) team from Haryana and Punjab red-handed during a sting operation while taking a bribe of Rs 70,000. The suspects, along with other officials and private persons, have formed an inter-state nexus to take bribes for illegal ultrasound sex determination tests from various clinics running in Punjab and Haryana in connivance with each other.

Wrongly implicated in case

I have been wrongly implicated in the case. I am ready to join investigations as and when required. I have evidence to prove my innocence. — Jasbir Singh Aulakh, Civil Surgeon

The arrested persons have been identified as Deepak Goyal, posted as pharmacist at the Civil Hospital, Sirsa, Haryana, Gurjit Singh, posted as district coordinator for the PNDT, Civil Surgeon, Barnala, Raj Singh, posted as peon at the Civil Surgeon’s office, Bathinda, and Surinder Singh, driver posted at the Civil Surgeon’s office, Sirsa.

Official spokesperson for the VB said Dr Ashok Kumar, a seasoned clinician with three decades of practice in Patran, Patiala district, had approached the Vigilance Bureau and stated that in 2020, he faced charges under the PNDT Act following a joint investigation by local doctors from Punjab and the PNDT in-charge in Sirsa. However, the subsequent raid on his clinic, Mahavir Hospital, in March 2024 yielded no incriminating evidence, leading to an inconclusive outcome.

The spokesperson said the complainant doctor further alleged that Surender Behniwal, who claims to be deployed at the PNDT, Sirsa, allegedly contacted Dr Ashok via WhatsApp and demanded a bribe of Rs 70,000 in exchange for turning a blind eye to illegal ultrasound sex determination practices at the clinic.

Shockingly, audio recordings of Behniwal’s explicit demands were on record, implicating not only him but also Dr Bharat Bhushan, in-charge, PNDT, Sirsa, Dr Jasbir Aulakh from Ludhiana and Dr SJ Singh.

However, it has not gone down well with officials and employees of the district Health Department. “I can never believe anything of this sort can ever happen. Dr Aulakh has been proactive and has set the department right to great extent. “He has been falsely implicated in the case,” said an official. When the Civil Surgeon was contacted in this regard, he said: “I have been wrongly implicated in the case. I am ready to join investigations as and when required. I have evidence to prove my innocence,” he said.