Chittoor district police on Sunday busted an illegal foetal sex determination racket operating in Bangarupalyam mandal and apprehended four accused allegedly involved in conducting unlawful prenatal gender tests on pregnant women from neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Tushar Dudi told the media that the racket was discovered during a surprise raid by the Police and Health Department officials at an under-construction house near Chandrasekharapuram village near Bangarupalem.

A special party found that the accused were allegedly carrying out foetal sex determination tests in violation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act and exorbitantly charging pregnant women for the prohibited service.

According to police, the gang reportedly contacted women from the neighboring States, brought them to Chittoor and Bangarupalem, and collected close to ₹10,000 from each woman. A scanning machine allegedly used for the illegal activity was confiscated following the raid.

The police identified as many as 14 pregnant women as victims and recorded their statements. The arrested were identified as B. Padmavathi and V. Jyothi from Chittoor, S. Jyothish from Cheekurupalli village in Bangarupalem mandal, and N. Roman Kumar from Chandrasekharapuram village in the same mandal. Two others, B. Sudhakar Reddy and Nagaraju, suspected to be key members of the network, are absconding. A special team has been formed to track down the elusive suspects.