In Quest For Son, Man Pushes Wife To Check Gender, Get Abortion. She Dies

A 24-year-old woman died after being forced to undergo an abortion after an illegal sex determination test in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, with police arresting her husband, the operator of a private diagnostic centre, a member of its staff and a nurse in connection with the case. According to police, the abortion was carried out illegally after the family discovered that the fetus was female, amid allegations that the woman's husband and in-laws wanted a son.

The woman, identified as Kiran Kumari, was taken to a private clinic at Shyamdih Chowk in Dhanbad after allegedly undergoing a sex determination test at the Central Diagnostic Centre in Shyamdih. According to the complaint lodged by her father, Rajendra Kumar Kewat, Kiran's husband, Sonu Kewat, and her in-laws wanted a male child and persuaded her to undergo the test. It is alleged that when the test indicated that she was carrying a girl, she was made to undergo an abortion.

Kiran's condition reportedly deteriorated during the procedure, with excessive bleeding. Doctors at a hospital where she was taken for treatment declared her dead. Police have initially suspected that the abortion was performed improperly and without the presence of a qualified specialist.

Police have arrested four people in connection with Kiran's death, including her husband, Sonu Kewat; Sachin Kumar Kewat, who operated the Central Diagnostic Centre; Vijay Goswami, identified in the case details as a member of the staff associated with the diagnostic centre; and Sulochana Devi, a nurse associated with Shaheed Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital (SNMMCH).

The four accused have been sent to judicial custody, police said. The police are also pursuing other people named in the complaint, including Kiran's father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, as well as other individuals allegedly associated with the diagnostic centre, laboratory technicians and doctors.