A pharmacist, who was on the run for the last one month since causing the death of a 27-year-old woman during a botched abortion procedure in his medical shop, was arrested by a special team of the Thittakudi police on Tuesday night.
The accused, identified as Murugan, owner of Om Sakthi Medicals in Ramanatham near Thittakudi, was produced before a local court and remanded in custody.
According to the police, Anitha, wife of Velmurugan of Vepanthattai in Perambalur district, approached Murugan for abortion as an illegal pre-natal scan revealed that the couple’s third child was a female. The accused allegedly prescribed her some pills and attempted the procedure in his medical shop on May 5.
However, Anitha’s condition worsened and she succumbed at the Perambalur Government General Hospital the next day. Murugan went missing after the incident.
Acting on a tip-off, a special police team arrested him from a house in Ramanatham. A case was booked against him under Sections 314 (death caused by act done with intent to cause miscarriage), 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 4 of Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and 15 (3) Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
