Pharmacy selling pregnancy termination kits raided in city, owner held

According to police, a decoy customer, 11 weeks pregnant, was recruited to obtain the MTP kit as part of the evidence collection. Investigators revealed that when she asked for the kit, the men at the counter reviewed her ultrasound reports and later asked her to go to the back.

A pharmacy selling the medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) kits illegally in the Sadar Bazaar area was raided on Thursday at 11.30pm, said police on Friday.

In a similar incident, a dental and eye clinic in Sector 52 was raided in August for illegally carrying out pregnancy terminations.

A team constituted by civil surgeon Gurugram, Dr Pradeep Kumar, along with police, busted the shop located on the main road in village Tikli, Sector 48, according to officials familiar with the matter.

Police said that they took the action based on an anonymous complaint against the chemist which mentioned that the accused, identified as Javed and Mohammed Arif, were dispensing the MTP kits openly, which are to be used only under the supervision of a gynecologist in a medical facility as specified in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2002.

According to police, a decoy customer, 11 weeks pregnant, was recruited to obtain the MTP kit as part of the evidence collection. Investigators revealed that when she asked for the kit, the men at the counter reviewed her ultrasound reports and later asked her to go to the back. Another man provided her some medicines, in exchange for ₹1500 and she was told that by using the medicines, her pregnancy would be terminated.

Investigators said that the accused informed her of the dosage and timings to administer the medicines. The decoy customer came out of the shop and narrated the incident to the team waiting 50 meters away from the shop. Following that, the police team arrested the owner, along with his associate.

An FIR was filed against the accused under relevant sections of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

In a similar incident, a dental and eye clinic in Sector 52 was raided in August for illegally carrying out pregnancy terminations.