Foetus, placenta found in a well in Punjab town

Patiala, Aug 9 (UNI) The Punjab Medical authorities have unearthed a well, which was being used by the owners of a nursing home to dump foetuses after abortion in Patran town of this district.

Though the authorities could not recover any foetus from the well, some placenta were found, which have been sent to the Rajindera Medical College, here for analysis.

''An aborted foetus decays faster than the placenta,'' Patiala Civil Surgeon V S Sohi who led the medical team that found the well, said when contacted.

''We suspect they could be female foetuses but as of now we do not have any evidence to make an official statement about it,'' he said.

According to Dr Mohi, the husband and wife duo who ran the nursing home -- Sahib Nursing home, were taken into custody by the medical team and handed over to the police. The couple Pritam Singh and his wife Amarjit Kaur were booked under the MTP Act.

The Civil Surgeon said that the couple were not qualified doctors and possessed forged degrees which were recovered during the raid on the nursing home. He said that about a year ago the same nursing home had been raided but nothing indiscriminate was found, he added.

Giving details Dr Sohi said, on a tip off, he along with the Senior Medical Officers (SMOs) of Samana and Shatrana raided the nursing home this morning after informing the Patiala SSP. Certain instruments used to abort a foetus were recovered and a ultrasound machine was sealed by the team.

The Civil Surgeon said that with help from the police, the medical team searched the well located outside the nursing home. Some placenta were pulled out of the well, he said.

Investigation by the medical authorities had revealed that the abortions were used to be performed at the night in the nursing home and then the foetuses were thrown in the well. Pregnant women from Patiala and Sangrur districts of Punjab and even from the adjoining areas of Haryana visited the nursing home for abortions.

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