CHANDIGARH: An ex-MLA was nabbed for conducting prenatal sex determination test at his office-cum-residence in Nirankari Colony of Indri Town in Karnal district by the food and drug administration on Sunday.

Dr Ashok Kashyap , an ex-MLA of INLD, and a woman — believed to be a nurse — were arrested from the spot. An unregistered ultra sound machine and other equipment and medicines used for the test were also recovered from the premises.

A case for violations of Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (regulation and prevention of misuse) Act, 1994 (PNDT) Act was registered against the duo at Indri police station. Indri DSP Kushal Pal Singh said further investigations are on and health officials are interrogating him.

With this, the total number of cases caught by the food and drug administration department has gone up to 41 in the past 35 days.

A senior official associated with the FDA and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao project said that Kashyap was into this business for the past few years and he had a network of health workers and villagers.

Sources informed that acting on the tip off, the district administration laid a trap where a woman went to Kashyap to ascertain the sex of her foetus.

As Kashyap was through with his tests and confirmed that the foetus was a boy, the team raided the premises. Meanwhile, local police, too, rushed to the spot and Kashyap was apprehended.

"Kashyap lived on the first floor and he used to run his clinic from the ground floor. Rest investigations related to his modus operandi and chain of touts is under progress,'' said inspector Balbir Singh, SHO of Indri police station.

