23 foetuses found in garbage dump in Bangalore

A total of 23 aborted foetuses were found dumped in a garbage dump in Srirampuram in Bangalore on Sunday evening.

The foetuses, suspected to be female, were stuffed in gunny bags that were inside black polythene bags, were first discovered by ragpickers, who were rummaging the garbage dump near Rajiv Gandhi statue in Srirampuram.

After the local residents informed the police, a team of police officials rushed to spot and confirmed that bags contained skeletal remains of foetuses along with bio-medical waste like syringes, bandage and cotton after an inspection.

Quoting eye-witness accounts, police said a truck bearing the name of a private travel firm from Kundapur in coastal Karnataka came to the spot on Sunday evening and dumped the black polythene bags in the garbage and went away.

Though the foetuses had been sent to Victoria Hospital for a forensic examination, there is a widespread suspicion that the foetuses were female.

Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Pramila Nesargi, who visited the garbage dump, told reporters that she would convene a meeting soon to create awareness against rampant female infanticide.

“Female foetuses are being cut like vegetables”, she said and added that the Srirampuram police station has registered a case and investigation is underway.

“Though a receipt issued by a hospital in Kundapur was found inside one of the gunny bags, we are yet to confirm whether it is really from that hospital or from one of the hundreds of nursing homes in Bangalore”, Nesargi said.

Many licensed nursing homes in Bangalore perform abortions in gross violation of the Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act. “Pre-diagnostic tests are conducted and the female foetuses are aborted. The trick being used to reveal the sex of the foetus is by marking in red if it is female and in green if it is a boy”, she said.

The mass recovery of aborted foetuses had also shocked the Government forcing Karnataka’s Health Minister R Ashok to order an inquiry into the matter. “We have alerted the police and after investigation, action will be taken”, he said.

Ashok also warned hospitals and nursing homes in the State that penal action will be taken against them if they were found aiding female infanticide.

The mass recovery of foetuses in Bangalore comes close on the heels of a similar recovery of several foetuses in Nayagarh in Orissa a couple of weeks ago.