Illegal sex determination centre found at cattleshed in Maharashtra’s Jalna; two held

Police busted an illegal fetal sex determination and abortion racket operating from a cattle shed in Jalna district of Maharashtra and arrested two persons, officials said on Thursday (November 27, 2025).

It was stated that among those arrested, the owner of a pathology laboratory in the region and a 12th grade transition student was caught red-handed while gender determination tests were being carried out on Wednesday, November 26, 2025.

Police said none of the people arrested were qualified doctors.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of police and medical personnel raided the facility, located in a cattle shed in a field at Nanja Wadi village in Bhokardan tehsil, an official said.

Two suspects were caught doing a gender determination test. He said there were also three women waiting for tests during the raid.

Authorities seized some medical testing supplies, a portable machine, abortion pills and mobile phones at the site, an official said.

According to the police, the undercover operation for fetal sex determination and illegal abortion was being carried out for several months at the cattle shed adjacent to the Zilla Parishad school in the Gawliwadi area of ​​the village.

The main accused, identified as Satish Sonawane, has a Class 12 pass and hails from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. There are already similar cases against him in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed and Jalna districts, an official said.

He said that besides Mr. Sonawane, the police also arrested Keshav Gawande, owner of Tejas Pathology Laboratory in Bhokardan tehsil of Jalna district.

An official said that the accused had moved the sex determination facility to the cattle shed to avoid attracting public attention and had been operating it for six months.

Earlier, in July 2024, authorities found an illegal abortion center in Bhokardan tehsil and arrested 28 people, including doctors from Jalna and Buldhana districts.