Karnataka: Over 3,000 Pregnant Women Missing in Yadagiri; Female Foeticide Concerns Rise

Over 3,000 registered pregnant women in Yadagiri are unaccounted for, raising fears of illegal abortions and female foeticide. Authorities have launched a probe into serious gaps in health records.

Yadagiri: Something is terribly wrong in Yadagiri district. The Health Department itself is in shock after finding out that it has no record of what happened to over 3,000 pregnant women who were registered with them. Out of more than 30,000 registered pregnancies, the delivery details for this huge number of women are simply untraceable. This has sparked fears of over a thousand illegal female foeticides happening quietly in the last year (2024-25).

The issue first came to light on March 18, when Kannada Prabha published a special report titled '30 female foeticides in 7 months in Yadagiri district'. The report created a major stir.

Taking it very seriously, the then Principal Secretary of the Health Department, Harsha Gupta, ordered an immediate investigation. He formed a five-member state-level committee of medical officers and asked them to conduct a thorough check not just in Yadagiri, but across all districts in the state.

Following the Kannada Prabha report, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao held a video conference with senior officials on the afternoon of March 25. It was in this meeting that the truly shocking numbers from Yadagiri were revealed. According to a confidential report from that meeting, which Kannada Prabha has accessed, 652 abortion cases were officially reported in the department in the seven months from April to November 2025. While the state's average for abortions is 5.24%, Yadagiri's was 3.16%.

The Missing 3,127 Cases

The data for the 2024-25 period is even more worrying. A total of 31,435 pregnant women were registered. Out of these, there were 26,584 live births and 188 infant deaths. Another 207 deliveries are yet to happen, and 1,329 were recorded as abortions. But when you add all these up, the total is only 28,308. This leaves 3,127 cases completely unaccounted for. Did these women deliver their babies? Are the babies alive or did they die? There are no answers.

Fake 'Thayi Cards' Created?

Sources told Kannada Prabha that during the meeting, officials discussed the strong possibility that many of these missing cases could be secret abortions, done because the foetus was female. The state-level committee visited the district from April 6 to April 10 to gather information and were reportedly stunned by their findings. There are also whispers within the department that fake 'Thayi Cards' (maternity cards) are being created just to meet targets on paper.

Action to Stop Abortions

Yadagiri District Collector Harshal Bhoyar said, "The state-level committee has visited the district and collected information. They told us a report will be submitted to the government soon. I have held an important meeting with health officials and have given strict instructions to take action against fake doctors and to prevent abortions."