The Kolkata Police said human tissue was not found in plastic bags discovered in the city’s Haridebpur locality on Sunday, ANI reported. “Some dry ice is there, an examination is on for exact nature of the material,” said Nilanjan Biswas, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Behala).

Hours earlier, Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said labourers clearing an empty plot of land had found bodies of 14 babies wrapped in plastic bags. “The 14 bodies, wrapped separately in plastic, were in two bags,” the Hindustan Times quoted Chatterjee as saying. “A thorough search of the entire areas, including nearby waterbodies, will be conducted to see if there are more bodies. It appears the bodies were soaked in chemicals,” he had added.

“Some abortion racket operating nearby could be behind it,” PTI had quoted a senior Kolkata police officer as saying.