Health and family welfare department officials conduct a raid at the Unit-II market clinic in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 30: A private ultrasound clinic at Unit-II market was raided and sealed today by a team of health and family welfare department for running without a valid licence.

It is suspected that the clinic has been conducting sex-determination tests.

The 15-member team found clinic owner Raj Kishore Sahu, a doctor, using ultrasound machines without valid registration. “The clinic has been sealed. We are verifying allegations of illegal sex determination,” said an official.

Deputy director of health and family welfare department Rajendra Mishra, who is also the nodal officer of implementation of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act in the state, said Sahu had been using the machines for the past six months.

His licence was cancelled by the district administration in February following allegations that the doctor had been conducting sex determination tests.

“We have found evidences that the machine was being used for the past several months. The doctor who owns the clinic denied initially that he was using the machines. However, we found proof in his laptop and the clinic and later he admitted that the machines were being used,” said Mishra.

The team seized two ultrasound machines, a laptop, several documents and freshly-used jelly and cotton from the clinic. “We have found documents concerning ultrasound check-ups on several patients including a 14-year-old girl on August 24,” said state facilitator of Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act Srabani Das.

The government has been taking stern steps against erring clinics following incidents of female foeticide in the neighbouring Nayagarh district in 2007.

Officials said the collector of Khurda had cancelled the registration of the clinic on February 24 following complaints. The owner, Raj Kishore Sahu, had applied to the family welfare department for renewal of his registration. “The department has not taken any decision. But, Dr. Sahu had been using the machines illegally since March,” said legal adviser to the health department Manoranjan Pradhan.

“There was no sex determination tests done in my clinic. I do ultrasound for abdomen-related problems. I had applied to the health department and as such my licence has not been completely cancelled,” said Sahu.