Whistleblowers say the corpses being exhumed by the police are proof of human sacrifice.
A baby's bones are among the remains of four human bodies that have been unearthed as the macabre offshoot of an investigation into illegal mining in and around Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
A granite mining mogul, PR Palanisamy, has been named in a police case as the main suspect in two deaths that took place over 10 years ago. His former driver has alleged that the millionaire ordered "a human sacrifice" and that he saw two bodies being mysteriously disposed.
But the bodies he led investigators to were in a burial ground, and locals say there was nothing unnatural about the deaths being referred to.
Mr Palanisamy's company, PRP Granite, a vast empire under inquiry for illegal mining and tax evasion, has denied any wrongdoing.
The driver made his complaint to senior bureaucrat U Sayagam, who is investigating the mining mafia in the region and is due in the Madras High Court tomorrow with an update on how the state was robbed of nearly 16,000 crores for a decade.
The bones that were found have been sent for forensic tests.