Doctor who performed abortion on minor girl arrested

KOLLAM: Police have arrested a doctor who performed an abortion on a minor girl from Kollam. The arrested person has been identified as Alappuzha Krishnapuram native Jose Joseph, who runs JJ Hospital in Krishnapuram. Jose Joseph performed the abortion on the Kollam native girl by falsifying records, increasing the girl's age to facilitate the abortion.

According to the police, Jose Joseph performed the illegal abortion without keeping proper records and by destroying evidence by adding false age in the records. Police say that Jose Joseph was an accused in similar cases earlier. He performed the abortion on the girl soon after getting released on bail in a similar case registered by the Shakthikulangara police.

Police said that the accused repeatedly committed such crimes without following the required procedures for abortion at the hospital. Illegally aborting pregnancies of minors is a punishable offence under the POCSO Act. Doctors and hospitals have a responsibility to report such incidents to the police, the police said.