11 skulls and 54 bones, allegedly of foetuses, have been found at a hospital in Maharashtra's Wardha district. Police suspect the hospital was allegedly carrying out illegal abortions.
Police have arrested a doctor and a nurse working with the hospital. The bones have been sent to a forensic lab for detailed examination and the report is awaited.
The matter came to light as police were investigating a case in which a minor boy allegedly impregnated a 13-year-old girl he was in a relationship with.
According to a police officer, the boy's parents had allegedly threatened the girl's family that they would defame them if she did not abort the child. It was the boy's family that paid for the procedure allegedly carried out at the Wardha hospital.
A doctor at the hospital and a nurse were arrested on January 9 after a police complaint was registered. Police have also arrested the boy's parents.
The accused have been arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a police officer said.
According to police, the doctor had not informed authorities about performing an abortion on a girl under 18.
As part of the investigation, police searched the hospital premises and found the skulls and bones at a biogas plant on the campus. Visuals from the spot show police officers inspecting the spot where the bones were recovered.
According to news agency PTI, Wardha police superintendent Prashant Holkar has said that accused doctor's parents-in-law are physicians who have a license to perform abortions.
A probe is now underway to find if the bones and skulls recovered from the hospital were disposed of legally or illegally, he said. The arrested doctor has not yet produced any document in this regard, the police commissioner said.
A hoarding outside the hospital says it specialises in maternity care and also has X-ray and sonography facilities.
