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The Judicial Magistrate First Class,Baramati,Wednesday convicted Dr Vidya Patale,75,in a PCPNDT case and sentenced her to undergo 13 months imprisonment. Charged with violating Sections 23 and 25 of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Determination of Techniques Act and revealing the sex of the foetus,Patale was also slapped a fine of Rs 11,000. This is the 49th conviction of a doctor in Maharashtra under the Act.
Advocate Megha Sonthale,PC-PNDT legal officer in Pune district,said this was the first such case where the state government had deputed a pregnant woman as a decoy to trap the doctor. Dr Geeta Kulkarni,medical superintendent of the sub-district hospital at Baramati,said there had been several complaints against Patale who ran a sonography centre called Baramati Clinic.
Based on these complaints,we convinced a pregnant woman to act as a decoy and help trap the doctor. The decoy,who was accompanied by an anganwadi worker,was told by the doctor in 2011 that there would be no verbal communication to reveal the sex of the foetus. Instead,one of the nurses on duty would communicate via symbols a plus sign if its a boy and a minus if its a girl. After the sonography,sister on duty Kesharbai Parmar showed the plus sign. The doctor pocketed Rs 1,400 for the job, said Kulkarni.
The then regional medical officer,Dr Balkrishna Kamble of Aundh district hospital,had led the team effort,along with the then tehsildar Himmatrao Kharade and Block Development Officer Rahul Kalbhor. The centre was sealed after that and the case was admitted in court. Public prosecutor Satish Naikwade argued the case.
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