Buried Aborted Fetis's Found in India states

This WAR on HIV must be won by education & awareness!Female foetuses found buried in Indian states
Aborted female foetuses continue to be unearthed in Orissa’s Nayagarh district and near Buldana in Maharashtra, displaying utter disregard for the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Tests Act, 1992, aimed at criminalising sex-selective abortions

Less than a fortnight after the remains of seven female foetuses were first discovered in Orissa’s Nayagarh district, a full-scale search conducted by local police has unearthed over 132 polythene bags with medical waste, aborted foetuses and newborns. Three foetuses were also found in a drain in Golanthara village in Ganjam district.

“We have dug the pit (used by a nursing home to dump medical waste) and recovered small bones and other body parts that had mixed with the soil. We will be sending those for forensic tests to Bhubaneswar,” Nayagarh Superintendent of Police Rajesh Kumar said.

The forensic analysis will be done at the MKCG Medical College Hospital; the results are expected later this week.

A day earlier, on July 22, a search by local authorities led to the discovery of 30 female foetuses at the same site near Nabaghanpur village. In all, more than 30 female foetuses have been recovered so far in Nayagarh district.

The police have taken two people into custody and detained one in connection with the incident. Sabita Sahu (48), wife of a government doctor who runs Krishna Clinic, was also arrested.

The district police carried out raids on six nursing homes that have ultrasound facilities that are often used to determine the gender of the foetus. Waste sites are also being examined.

Orissa’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a crime branch inquiry into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has sought a report from the Orissa government over these shocking discoveries and asked the state to ensure strict implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Tests (PCPNDT) Act, 1992.

Women and Child Development Secretary Deepa Jain Singh has written to the chief secretary of Orissa asking that those found guilty of foeticide or infanticide in Nayagarh be booked and strict action taken against them.

The letter stresses the need to create awareness about female foeticide and inform people about its illegality.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also initiated an inquiry into the issue. A three-member committee, headed by commission member Manju Hembrom, will visit Nayagarh on July 26 to investigate the matter. “We will visit the clinic near where the foetuses were found. We will also talk to the state administration and the police,” says Hembrom.

The initial discovery of seven female foetuses in Nayagarh, on July 14, is what tipped the authorities off to the larger horror that has now been unearthed in the area. A 12-year-old boy stumbled upon some blood-stained polythene bags near Duburi hills close to Ramachandiprasad village, a few kilometres from the district headquarter town of Nayagarh.

After the incident was widely reported on television and in the newspapers, the Nayagarh police took action and conducted raids at several nursing homes in the town.

A fact-finding team from Bhubaneswar that visited Nayagarh on July 16 observed that, according to local people, foeticide was a regular phenomenon in the area. The team has demanded that unlicensed nursing homes and ultrasound clinics be closed down and relevant action be taken against them.

The fact-finding team that comprised child rights and health activists also demanded a crime branch probe into the episode alleging that female foeticide in Nayagarh appeared to be the outcome of an alleged nexus between health officials, nursing homes and the local administration.

People point out that there are 12 nursing homes with sex-determination facilities in the area, but only one of them is registered. According to the 2001 census, the sex ratio in Orissa is 972 females per 1,000 males. But in Nayagarh, it is 939 females per 1,000 males -- the lowest in the state. Nayagarh also has the lowest child sex (0-6 years) ratio in Orissa, with 901 girls for every 1,000 boys.

However, surveys indicate that the number of girl-children is on the decline in other parts of the state as well. A study by the School of Women’s Studies, Utkal University, reveals that 13 out of the state’s 30 districts have witnessed a declining sex ratio over the past century. Most districts like Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Khurda and Puri are in the highly literate and economically prosperous coastal belt. By contrast, tribal districts like Nabarangpur (1,002), Koraput (993), Kalahandi and Malkangiri (990 each) have a high number of girl-children.

In a related development, 15 foetuses were found at a dumping site 15 km from Buldana town in Maharashtra. The discovery was made after locals called the police complaining of a foul smell emanating from a dustbin. Five female foetuses were found in the bin, while others were unearthed elsewhere in the area.

Although a case has been registered, no arrests have been made so far.