(Updates with detentions, byline) By Girish Sharma BHOPAL, India, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Police in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh recovered 390 pieces of bones of newly born babies or foetuses from the backyard of a Christian missionary hospital, officials and media reports said on Sunday. "The question of female foeticide and infanticide is part of our investigation, as is illegal abortions," Superintendent of Police Satish Saxena said, speaking from Ratlam town where the grisly find was made on Saturday. Ratlam is 230 km (140 miles) west of Bhopal, the state capital. Police, acting on a tip, 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 Bhopal for forensic tests. Meanwhile, a hospital sweeper and two doctors have been taken into custody by police for questioning. Hospital records have also been seized. "We are questioning both the doctors and the further course of action would depend on their statements," Saxena said. Angry people attempted to barge into the hospital demanding stern action against hospital officials but were stopped by police. The hospital administrators were not available for comment. 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. 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. "A NATION KILLING ITS DAUGHTERS" Separately, the government on Sunday said it was planning a "cradle scheme" to adopt girl children to check female foeticide. "We want to put a cradle...in every district headquarters," Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury was quoted on the Press Trust of India news agency. "If you don't want a girl child, leave her to us." In India, boys are seen as future breadwinners, 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. "It is a matter of international and national shame for us that India, with a growth of nine per cent, still kills its daughters," Chowdhury said. 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. (Additional reporting by Prithwish Ganguly in NEW DELHI)
