NEW YORK: A grand jury in the US indicted an India-born doctor and his wife, along with another Indian-origin female doctor in a first-of-its kind federal prosecution involving female genital mutilation. Fakhruddin Attar, 53, and his wife Farida Attar, 50, were charged with conspiring to perform female genital mutilations on minor girls in the former's medical clinic in Livonia. They were arrested on April 21. They were also charged with helping Jumana Nagarwala, 44, to perform FGM on two minor girls.
The indictment handed in by US District Court said Jumana cut the genitals of two Minnesota girls with aid from another doctor who allowed the surgery in his Livonia clinic, and, helped coordinate the girls' trip to Michigan. It also alleges that the three people tried to obstruct investigation by telling other people to make false statement to authorities and are accused of lying to investigators. Charges on Nagarwala state that she used to perform the medical procedure on minor girls at Burhani Medical Clinic in Michigan, owned and operated by Fakhruddin. The Attars have been accused of arranging and assisting in female mutilation operations performed by Nagarwala, and allowing their clinic to be used.
Speaking with federal agents Fakhruddin said he has known Nagarwala and she occasionally saw patients at his clinic even though she was not employed there. He said she only saw patients at BMC when the clinic was closed and that his wife used to be present in the examining room while Nagarwala treated the minor girls. An investigation revealed that several minor girls informed forensic personnel that Nagarwala had performed procedures on their genitals, with one revealing that Farida had been present when Nagarwala did the FGM procedures.
The complaint against the three doctors stated that some of the minor victims travelled interstate to have the procedure performed, and alleged that it was performed on girls approximately between the age of six to eight years old. It further said that federal agents reviewed her telephone records and further investigation revealed that parents of two minors girls had travelled to Michigan. The minors were later interviewed by a forensic expert and one of them said she was told she was coming to Detroit for a “special” girls trip, but later learnt they had to go to the doctor because “our tummies hurt”.
FGM has been a crime under federal law since 1996 and is punishable by up to five years in prison. However, it is not a crime in 26 US states including Michigan.
