Police in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh recovered 390 pieces of bones of newly born babies or foetuses from the grounds of a Christian missionary hospital.
Police, acting on a tip-off, dug up the backyard of the hospital and found the pieces of bones, some stuffed in plastic bags.
Police in Ratlam have sent the remains to a government laboratory in the state capital Bhopal for forensic tests.
"The question of female foeticide and infanticide is part of our investigation, as is illegal abortions," Superintendent Satish Saxena said from Ratlam town where the grisly find was made yesterday.
A hospital sweeper and two doctors have been taken into custody for questioning and hospital records have also been seized as part of the investigation. A hospital spokesperson was not available for comment.
Angry people attempted to barge into the hospital demanding stern action against hospital officials but were stopped by police.
Despite laws banning sex determination tests, the killing of female foetuses is still common in India where the preference for sons runs deep. Infanticide is also practised in some areas.
In a separate development, the government today said it was planning a "cradle scheme" to adopt girl children to check female foeticide.
Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury said: "It is a matter of international and national shame for us that India, with a growth of nine per cent, still kills its daughters."
Boys are seen as future earners, while girls are often thought to be liabilities as their parents have to pay costly dowries during their marriages.
According to the 2001 census, the national sex ratio is 933 females to 1,000 males. Last December, the government said 10 million girls have been killed by their parents in the past 20 years either before they were born or immediately after.
The discovery in Ratlam comes weeks after federal police started investigating the gruesome killings of about 20 children and women in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh. A businessman and his domestic servant have been arrested.