Major confusion prevailed in Kolkata on Sunday as 14 plastic bags containing what has been described as “medical waste” were found on the southern edge of the city. The police said that an investigation has been initiated.
‘No human elements’
“Doctors [of the M. R. Bangur Hospital], who are examining the bags, have primarily opined that there were no human elements inside the packets,” Praveen Tripathi, Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Crime), told The Hindu. The bags were recovered from an enclosed compound in the Haridevpur area of south-west Kolkata on Sunday. The incident took place when employees of a construction company, cleaning the area, stumbled upon the plastic bags.
However, earlier in the day, Nilanjan Biswas, Deputy Commissioner (Southwest division) said that they had recovered “14 foetuses” from the area and all of them had been sent for post-mortem. Within an hour of the DC’s statement, Mr. Tripathi said that when doctors opened the plastic bags, they did not find any “human elements” in them.
“When doctors opened the plastic bags they found some dry ice, chemicals and medical waste. Prima facie, the doctors said that there were no human elements in the bags,” said Mr. Tripathi. He also said that the police were still examining the bags and that investigation would continue.
Mayor of Kolkata Sovan Chatterjee visited the spot.