Some dead foetuses were found floating in a stream in Mudalagi town in Belagavi district on Friday.
Villagers, terrified at the sight of the cadavers that had collected under a foot overbridge, called the police, who, in turn, called the Taluk Health Officer.
Health Department officials and the police collected the plastic jars in which the foetuses were kept. Officials counted them to be seven. They suspected that they [foetuses] could have been thrown out of hospitals after termination of pregnancies.
District Health and Family Welfare Officer Mahesh Koni said that he has ordered an inquiry into the incident. He has formed a team of officers to investigate the matter. Pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide are prohibited by law.
The Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994, amended in 2002, recommends strong action against such offences. They will be treated very strictly. Offenders will be punished, he said.
