Even as the government is taking all measures against the illegal practice of pre-natal sex determination and abortion to address the skewed sex ratio in Haryana, its fight received a setback when a huge cache of abortion kits were received on April 29 at Kaithal. The government authorities on Tuesday seized a staggering 5,805 Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) kits from a private residence in Kaithal, the largest ever haul in the state struggling to save the unborn girl child.
Hours after the largest-ever haul in Haryana, where the sex ratio at birth is among the worst in the country, a state government team raided the house a medical supplier, Ravinder Kumar, in Karnal on Tuesday night and seized large quantities of undocumented drugs. A search is on for the absconding supplier after CCTV footage shows him and his family members fleeing with large boxes.
A joint team of the health department, food and drug administration (FDA), and Haryana State Narcotics Control Bureau (HSNBC) raided Ravinder Kumar’s house after 5,805 medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits were recovered in Kaithal on Tuesday morning.
Kaithal-based medical representative Vikas Bansal was arrested and booked after the recovery.
Haryana state drug controller Manmohan Taneja said that during interrogation, Bansal admitted that he had procured the kits from Ravinder Kumar in Karnal. When the joint team, including drug control officers of Kaithal and Karnal, an HSNCB sub-inspector and the Kunjpura senior medical officer, reached Ravinder Kumar’s house at Shiv Colony in Karnal in the evening, they found it locked. Ravinder was untraceable and his mobile phone was switched off, a member of the raiding team said.
The authorities are now on the lookout of the absconding suspect.
The items seized under Section 22 (1)(c) or (cc) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act are 1,000 tablets of Vigueur (Sildenafil Citrate 100mg), 258 tablets of TrustPostpil 72 (Levonorgestrel), 60 pills of Unwanted-72 (Levonorgestrel), 216 Manforce 100 (Sildenafil) and different quantities of German-made Calcium Phosphorica homeopathic medicine.
On Tuesday, the team had seized 5,805 MTP kits worth ₹25 lakh of different batches and manufacturers. Of them, 5,745 kits were sealed and seized, and 60 were taken for sampling.
According to the health officials, each MTP kit contains a Mifepristone (200mg) tablet and four Misoprostol (200mcg) tablets, both are used for terminating pregnancies and can only be stored or prescribed by registered medical practitioners and that too at authorised medical facilities.
Two other types of drugs, Unwanted 72 (660 tablets), and Manforce-100 (3,840 tablets), were also recovered from Bansal’s house.
The use of illegally delivered MTP kits is rampant across Haryana in places like Kurkshetra. Karnal, Rohtak and in some areas of Panchkula too, throwing legal provisions and caution to the wind. In 2024, Haryana's sex ratio at birth was 910 females per 1,000 males. This marks an eight-year low for the state, a decline from 923 in 2019. The sex ratio at birth is defined as the number of female births per 1,000 male births.
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