North Kashmir doctor, five ‘associates’ arrested for terminating minor’s pregnancy

Srinagar: Police on Monday said it arrested a doctor and five of his “associates” for illegal termination of pregnancy of a minor girl hailing from central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

News agency GNS quoted a police statement saying the arrests were made following a report from the Victim Liaisoning Officer, deputed with a minor rape victim in a previous case FIR No.14/2021 U/S 376 IPC that the girl had been subjected to compulsive delivery of baby by some unknown doctor and that the infant may have been killed during such illegal procedure.

Accordingly, Ganderbal police filed a fresh case FIR No.24 of 2021 U/S 326, 312 IPC at Police Station Ganderbal and initiated investigation into the case, the statement said.

A team under the supervision of Deputy SP Head Quarters Ganderbal, Dr Abdul Majid including SHO Ganderbal Khurshid Ahmad Awan was set up by SSP Ganderbal, Khalil Ahmad Poswal to nab the accused, it added.

As per police, the victim revealed that her family members took her to accused doctor’s clinic in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district where she was subjected to illegal termination of pregnancy.

The accused doctor was subsequently arrested, an official said.

He said that further leads into the case led to the arrest of five more persons for providing logistic and technical assistance in carrying out the illegal procedure nearly at term stage.

Investigation in the case is going on and more arrests are expected, he added.