3 docs held for not reporting teen pregnancy cases in Mandya

Mandya: Mandya police arrested three doctors in KR Pet for allegedly failing to report cases of teenage pregnancy after conducting raids based on credible information, officials said. The doctors have violated mandatory legal provisions. Officials said doctors are required to inform authorities such as the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) or the child development project officer (CDPO) when they encountered cases involving underage pregnant girls, but the doctors in these instances failed to discharge this duty.The arrested are Dr Divya Chethana of Chethana Maternity Center, Dr Harshit of Navi Diagnostic Center, and Dr Harish of Kushal Diagnostic Center.Police said Dr Priyanka, gynaecologist at a govt hospital and named in the case, remained absconding. Efforts were on to trace her.Police said 12 FIRs were registered against 17 accused at KR Pet Town and Rural police stations. Those named included a govt doctor, three private practitioners, a junior female health assistant, an ASHA worker, and several private individuals suspected of facilitating the violations. So far, three doctors have been taken into custody.Preliminary investigations indicated two diagnostic centres in KR Pet were central to the alleged racket. At Navi Diagnostic Center alone, 24 underage pregnant girls were subjected to scans, including 19 cases in 2024 and five in 2025. Kushal Diagnostic Center was also under scrutiny for conducting scans on at least seven underage girls. Officials stated the Lokayukta police took up the case suo motu following the raids. Further investigation is under way to determine the full extent of the network and to bring all those involved to justice.Speaking to TOI, Suresh Babu, superintendent of Lokayukta, said, "As of Tuesday, 12 cases have been registered, and three persons have already been arrested. Dr Priyanka, who allegedly referred more than 1,300 cases to these centres, is absconding. Local police will obtain body warrants in each case and conduct a detailed investigation. It is the responsibility of the scanning centres to verify Aadhaar cards and confirm the age of those who come for scans. If the person is underage, the matter should be immediately brought to the notice of the authorities, which was not done. Instead, ages were recorded arbitrarily. We have instructed police to arrest Dr Priyanka at the earliest."