Mandya: Health officials on Wednesday launched a crackdown on medical scanning centres after a large-scale female foeticide ring was exposed carrying out medical termination of female foetuses at a makshift surgical facility set up at a jaggery factory in a remote village of Mandya district.

The raids were carried out by the Mandya District Family Welfare Officer Venkataswamy and Pandavapura Sub-division Assistant Commissioner Nandish.

They sealed scanning centres that did not comply with government guidelines and keep their records up to date.

The police recently arrested 10 people including doctors, nurses and agents, who had allegedly carried out over 900 female foeticides.

The gang used to contact pregnant women and persuade them to get a sex determination test done, for which they charged between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000, according to police.

They used to conduct the tests in the jaggery factory where all the required equipment was kept, police said 'If the tests showed a female child, ask those women whether they wanted to abort it. Once the women agreed, the team would charge about Rs 50,000 to do the work. At least 900 female foeticides were carried out by the gang,' a senior police official said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah noted that a CID probe has been ordered into the female foeticide case.

Based on the report, stringent action will be taken against the culprits, he told reporters in the district headquarters town of Belagavi.

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New Delhi, Nov 25: A day after violence rocked Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the BJP's use of power to create a rift between Hindus and Muslims was neither in the interest of the state nor the country.

He also urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter as soon as possible.

Three people were killed and scores of others, including security and administration personnel, injured on Sunday as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal clashed with police. A fourth injured person died on Monday.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The biased and hasty attitude of the state government on the recent dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is extremely unfortunate. I express my deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the violence and firing."

The administration, without listening to all the parties, insensitively took action that vitiated the atmosphere further and led to the deaths of people -- for which the BJP government is directly responsible, he charged.

"The BJP's use of power to create a rift and discrimination between Hindu-Muslim communities is neither in the interest of the state nor the country. I request the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter as soon as possible and do justice," Gandhi said.

The former Congress chief also appealed for peace and mutual harmony.

"We all have to join together to ensure that India moves forward on the path of unity and constitution, not communalism and hatred," Gandhi asserted.

The district administration has already imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders till November 30 following Sunday's clashes.

Internet services were soon suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday in all schools for Monday.

Violence broke out in the district as protesters opposing the survey of the Jama Masjid clashed with security personnel. The protesters torched vehicles and pelted the police with stones while the security personnel used tear gas and batons to disperse the mob.

Tension had been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the Jama Masjid was first surveyed on the court's orders following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple had stood at the site.

On Sunday, trouble started early when a large group of people gathered near the mosque and started shouting slogans as the survey team began its work.

District officials said the survey could not be completed on Tuesday and was planned for Sunday to avoid interference with afternoon prayers.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Moradabad) Muniraj told reporters on Monday that Naeem, Bilal and Nauman -- the three men who died in Sunday's violence -- had been buried. All three were aged about 25.

He later confirmed the death of a fourth person.

Divisional Commissioner (Moradabad) Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said on Sunday, "Shots were fired by miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence."

A constable also suffered a serious head injury while the deputy collector fractured his leg, he had said.

The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Adityanath administration was squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS was guilty of "setting fire" to peace and harmony in Sambhal.

The opposition party had said the videos of direct firing on the protesters depicted the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.