Cracking down against the illegal sex determination tests, the Punjab Health Department has arrested 60 offenders and sealed 14 machines in less than seven months across the State for violating the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.

Disclosing this, the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu on Thursday said that during this drive conducted from November 2018 to June 2019, the health teams have unearthed illegal operations in some of the ultrasound and scanning centres and 18 FIRs have been registered whereas 60 culprits have been arrested and 14 ultrasound machines were sealed.

He said that the Health Department has further widened its scope of its activities to nab the offenders who are secretly conducting sex determinations tests. “Working in this direction, the Punjab Government has inked Memorandum of Understanding with an espionage agency which has conducted 19 sting operations till now,” he said.

The Minister said that Health Department has also appealed the public to support the government in nabbing such anti-social elements. “Rs 50,000 reward has also been announced for the informer who would give information of such sex determination tests being carried out at any scanning center,” he said.He said that if FIR is registered against any erring ultrasound and scanning centre, the decoy patient would also be rewarded with Rs one lakh.

Sidhu said that in order to strike a fair balance in sex ratio, the Health Department would soon made it imperative for any pregnant mother to show her Mother and Child Security Card (Vaccination Card) whether she is going in private center or in government hospital for ultrasound test.

He said that after this registration, a pregnant mother would be eligible for undergoing ultrasound test in government or in private hospital.