7 foetuses found in Belagavi drain; postmortem ordered

District health officer said that Venkateshwara (Maternity) Hospital and its scanning centre have admitted that the embryos came from their facility. However, the hospital authorities have denied any wrongdoing on their part as they have claimed that most of the foetuses had congenital defects.

The administration of Karnataka’s Belagavi district on Saturday said that the process for conducting the postmortem on the seven aborted embryos, found in a drain, has begun and that the findings will possibly be out on Monday or Tuesday, giving more clarity on if it is a case of female foeticide.

Seven aborted embryos were found in an open drain in Mudalgi town of Karnataka’s Belagavi district. (HT Archives)

“The postmortem will be completed today but the report will be made available only on Monday or Tuesday. The police have to follow the due process which includes taking the opinion of gynaecologists and forensics,” said Dr Mahesh Kone, the district health officer (DHO) of Belagavi, about 500 kms from Bengaluru.

The updates come a day after the people of Mudalgi town in Belagavi were in for a shock as they saw several dead foetuses were put in canisters or glass jars and found in an open drain near the bus stop.

The district administration and police have already identified the medical facility responsible for the incident.

Kone said that Venkateshwara (Maternity) Hospital and its scanning centre have admitted that the embryos came from their facility. However, the hospital authorities have denied any wrongdoing on their part as they have claimed that most of the foetuses had congenital defects.

There were also reports that the foetuses were a few years old and were stored in the hospital which then asked its staff to dispose them of; foetuses were later found floating in the drain.

Kone said that only investigation will reveal if it was a case of sex determination, which is an offence in India.