"Those officials who have been complacent or are found to have abdicated their responsibility in checking the female foeticide will be dealt strictly," Shetty told a review meeting at the district civil hospital.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of a string of incidents of female foeticides in the district which has the lowest male-female sex ratio among children under the age of 6 in the state.
Three doctors from Beed district, two from neighbouring Nanded district and five medical practitioners from Osmanabad district have so far found guilty of carrying out illegal sex determination tests and aborting female foetuses.
"The instances of female foeticides have brought a bad name to progressive state like Maharashtra not in the country but among the global community as well," Shetty said.
Clarifying that the state government will not harass law-abiding doctors, the health minister said only those sonography centres that have failed to maintain mandatory records will be sealed.
He informed that the state government will nominate two public prosecutors for trying the female foeticide cases and foot the legal expenses.
Minister of state Fauzia Khan, who also attended the meeting, termed as "disgusting" the incidents of female foeticides.
District guardian minister Jaidatta Kshirsagar, civil surgeon Dr Gauri Rathod, Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Ramchandra Giri and other officials attended the meeting.
The illegal abortions came to light after three foetuses were found dumped on June 2 at various places in the district.
The district authorities on May 25 sealed a private hospital run by a doctor couple for allegedly carrying out illegal abortion of a 30-year-old woman that resulted in her death on May 18.
