Kolkata: Discovery of fourteen plastic wrapped objects at a swamp in Haridevpur, initially thought to be bodies of newborn babies or foetuses, sparked widespread sensation on Sunday. As the mystery intensified over the suspicious objects, senior police officers, including the Commissioner of Police Rajeev Kumar, rushed to the spot.
Immediately, the packets were taken out of the swamp and sent to M R Bangur Hospital for further enquiry. Prima facie, police had told media persons that the packets might contain bodies of newborn babies. However, police later informed that the contents were actually medical waste which had been dumped there.
According to senior police officers, some labourers of a real estate company were working at a site located at Raja Rammohan Roy Road in Haridevpur. On Sunday, they were engaged to clean up the premises. While doing their work, some of them noticed a few plastic-wrapped bundles in a bush beside a swamp. One of them checked from a distance and informed the officials of the company that there might be bodies inside the packets.
Hearing the situation, the officials immediately informed Haridevpur police station about the plastic-wrapped objects. Police rushed to the spot and recovered fourteen packets, none of which were opened. Later, Deputy Commissioner of South West Division Nilanjan Biswas told media persons that police are yet to confirm whether there were any foetuses or bodies of newborn babies inside the packets.
"We cannot say what is inside. It could be foetuses, or it could be bodies. We are waiting for the autopsy report." He also informed that dumping the objects at the swamp might have been a planned action.
Biswas later stated that from seeing the placement of the packets, it can be assumed that the packets were thrown into the swamp.
A written statement was also released by the police, stating that "bodies of fourteen premature babies (most are likely foetuses) have been recovered."
However, the scenario changed after 7:10 p.m. when Biswas issued a statement saying that there was no human tissue or body parts inside the packets. However, something had been kept with dry ice inside them. Later, Joint Commissioner (Crime) Praveen Kumar Tripathi issued another statement which read: "Doctors of M R Bangur Hospital have examined and verbally opined that they did not find any human tissue or foetus inside. It may be some chemical or clinical waste. But final opinion on this is still awaited."
After these statements, question arose on how police could issue a statement without confirming the information. Even in the last statement, it was mentioned that police were still not sure what kind of material was inside the packets.