A quack and his two aides, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly carrying out illegal abortions at a nursing home in Akola city of Maharashtra, police said on July 22.

The nursing home, being run by Rupesh Telgote, who studied only till Class 12 and does not hold any medical degree, has been sealed, police inspector Milindkumar Bahakar said. Acting on a tip-off, a special squad of the police along with medical experts laid a trap on Sunday evening by sending a decoy pregnant woman to seek termination of pregnancy at Telgote's nursing home, located in the city's Bhagwat Plot area, he said.

When Telgote agreed to conduct the abortion, the police nabbed him and two of his aides - Vaishali Gawai and Ravi Ingle - who allegedly used to help him in the procedure, the official said. The police seized some injections and machinery used for carrying out abortions, and sealed the nursing home. The three accused were arrested and booked under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and Indian Penal Code Sections 312, 313 (causing miscarriage), 419, 420 (cheating) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), Bahakar added.