Authorities bust man without health credentials for 12 years of illegal abortions

A man with no valid medical credentials ran what neighbors knew as a clinic for 12 years — but in reality, it was an illegal abortion facility.

Police in Odisha, India, arrested a 55-year-old man on April 17 who is accused of "impersonating a doctor" and performing illegal abortions out of his private residence — operations that allegedly continued undetected for over a decade, until a woman was found in critical condition.

Key Takeaways:

• Police in Badamba, Odisha, arrested a man who allegedly performed illegal abortions for 12 years while posing as a licensed physician.

• A woman was found bleeding profusely during a raid and had to be rushed to a community health center for emergency care.

• The suspect could not produce a valid medical license, degree, or clinic registration when questioned by authorities.

The Details:

The arrest came after police received a tip about an unlicensed clinic operating out of the Sunapal Bazar home of Jayant Bastia, under Badamba police limits.

Sub-Inspector Biswa Bandita Sahoo led the operation, with officers entering the premises undercover — posing as women seeking abortions.

What they found inside was alarming. Bastia was allegedly caught mid-procedure. A woman on the premises was discovered in critical condition, bleeding heavily. She was immediately transported for emergency medical treatment.

Seized from the clinic were a manually-operated suction machine, surgical dilators, additional instruments, injections, and an assortment of medications.

Open Secret, Closed Questions

Locals allege the clinic was no secret. Residents say patients came day and night over the course of roughly 12 years, many of them seeking abortions.

But the scope of the alleged activity may extend beyond that. Authorities also allege that sex-determination services were being carried out at the clinic using equipment found on the premises. 

In India, prenatal sex determination is illegal under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, a law designed to combat sex-selective abortion.

Credentials That Didn’t Exist

When questioned during the raid, Bastia was unable to produce any valid certificate, medical degree, or clinic registration. A nameplate outside his home suggested he held a Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery degree. He could not produce that either.

Dr. Dolagovinda Jena, a medical officer from Badamba Community Health Center who joined police on the raid, confirmed that the procedures carried out at the clinic were unlicensed and illegal. Badamba IIC Paramananda Nayak has since registered a formal case — No. 141/2026 — with investigation ongoing.

The Bottom Line:

Abortion is a lucrative business with many abortionists ignoring risks to women's health in order to turn a profit. The question is not just how this illegal facility was open for so long, but how many women passed through those doors, each facing potential significant injury, before authorities discovered it.