Police in India are investigating after 19 aborted female foetuses were found dumped near a hospital.
Officers made the discovery while investigating the death of a woman following an alleged “botched abortion” nearby, in the Sangli district in western India.
The remains were “buried with the intention of disposing them,” police told the BBC.
It is the latest in a string of similar cases which have come to light in past years after eight female foetuses were found in a plastic bag in Indore city in 2012. Fifteen female foetuses were found in drains in Beed in Maharashtra in 2009.
The discovery suggests female foeticide and illegal sex determination before birth continues to take place in the country.
Dattatray Shinde, superintendent of police, said: “It appears to be an abortion racket. We have arrested the husband of the woman, and have launched a manhunt for the doctor who has gone missing,"
According to the BBC, campaigner Dr Ganesh Rakh called the case “horrifying” and proves illegal sex determination continues to happen.
He said: “This case proves that people still prefer boys and girls are still unwanted.
"I think abortions were happening on a large scale in Sangli. Once the doctor is arrested, I fear we will find more aborted female foetuses."
