If you need a sonogram in India, you may have a tougher time these days. City-based radiologists in Pune, Maharashtra, have been on indefinite strike, refusing to perform the imaging technique in all but emergency cases — and they have now gotten support from 70 of their colleagues in Pimpri-Chinchwad.

“We have decided not to perform ultrasound tests for patients waiting in out-patient departments at corporate hospitals,” Dr. Guruaj Lacchan, president of the Pune unit of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA), told The Indian Express late last week.

Last week over 2,000 radiologists across the Indian state of Maharashtra held a one-day token strike to protest what what they claimed has been an unreasonable application of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT), passed by the Indian Parliament in 1994, which banned prenatal sex determination.

"All major hospitals have extended their support to us. Only patients who are admitted and those needing emergency care can avail of sonography tests at hospitals," Mahesh Kulkarni, president of Maharashtra state branch of the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association told The Times of India.

"Honest radiologists who don't even have remote connection with sex determination have been victimized under the PCPNDT Act for minor clerical errors," National PCPNDT coordinator and former state president of the IRIA Jignesh Thakker told the Times. "We are planning state-wide suspension of sonography tests from Wednesday."

At issue is the case charging radiologist Ashutosh Jape with violating the act. The Pune radiologist diagnosed a brain abnormality in a fetus at 21 weeks of age — at which point the expecting mother elected to end her pregnancy.

Pune Municipal Corporation's PCPNDT chief, Dr. Vaishali Jadhav, reviewed the case and declared it was an instance of female feticide and sealed three ultrasound machines belonging to Jape on April 5.

This then led to a court filing against Jape, as termination of pregnancies are only permitted to the 20th week in India. Jadhav told the Indian Express, “our team has followed the law and found several discrepancies in the versions provided by Dr. Jape in his report.”

A number of local Pune radiologists, among them president of the Pune Radiologists Association Dr. Gururaj Lacchan, have come out in support of Jape and against the charges, telling the Express that the doctor was correct to detect the anomaly during ultrasound examination.

"We have demanded that the government issue instructions to appropriate authorities about uniform, systematic and unprejudiced implementation of the Act," Thakker stated to the Times, adding, "If our demands are not met, radiologists from across the state will join Pune radiologists in their strike."

Junal Kumar, Pune Municipal commissioner, has pledged to start an investigation into the Jape case, as well as others involving radiologists and the implementation of the Act.

“We have had several rounds of dialogue with radiologists and Indian Medical Association representatives to sustain efforts in saving the girl child and reversing the dwindling sex ratio. PMC officials take action as laid down by the Act. We will conduct an impartial inquiry to find out any specific irregularities or examine any evidence that doctors have that a particular officer, in this case Dr. Vaishali Jadhav, has been harassing them under the pretext of the Act,” Kumar told the Express.

The protesting physicians want all charges against Jape dropped, the release of his machines – and to have Jadhav removed from his post.