Ex-Health Official Arrested in Kolhapur After Admitting to 200 Illegal Abortions
The Kolhapur police arrested Dr. Chandrakant Gunda Gaikwad on July 31 for allegedly operating an illegal female foeticide ring in Kolhapur, western Maharashtra. Gaikwad, a retired district civil surgeon and former assistant director in the State health department, reportedly confessed during interrogation to performing between 200 and 250 illegal abortions.
Gaikwad had served for years within the upper echelons of Maharashtra's health administration and was previously part of the government's ‘Save the Girls’ campaign. Following his retirement from public service, he allegedly expanded an underground enterprise, running the illegal abortion network out of the region.
State Health Minister Prakash Abitkar, whose home district is Kolhapur, described the involvement of a former health official in such a crime as a serious matter. In response to the case, Abitkar announced that the State will soon introduce a new law to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against female foeticide. The proposed legislation aims to ensure that doctors, family members, pharmacists, and anyone supporting the crime face strict prosecution.
However, when pressed by media persons regarding how implicated doctors routinely obtain bail and continue running their operations without facing effective punishment, the Health Minister offered no concrete answer.
Local anti-foeticide activists noted that illegal abortion networks continue to operate quietly across the State despite periodic police action. Roopa Shah, founder of the Kolhapur-based organisation Dilasa Samajik Vishwast Sanstha, stated that conventional measures by law enforcement, courts, and the administration have failed to stop these offences across both rural and urban areas.
Recent statistics highlight the ongoing preference for male children in the State. According to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), 9 percent of women and 12 percent of men in Maharashtra express a desire for more sons than daughters, while only 4 to 5 percent of men and women express a preference for more daughters.
