New Delhi: The Centre has sought a report from Orissa government over the shocking discovery of a large number of female foetuses in Nayagarh area even as the National Commission for Women (NCW) has set up an inquiry into the issue.

Union Women and Child Development Secretary Deepa Jain Singh has written to the Chief Secretary of Orissa asking that those guilty of foeticide or infanticide in Nayagarh should be booked and stringent action be taken against them.

The Centre has sought a report on the issue and asked the state to ensure strict implementation of the PNDT Act.

The letter also emphasises on the need to create awareness against female foeticide and to educate people that it is illegal.

The NCW has meanwhile constituted a three-member inquiry committee headed by Commission Member Manju Hembrom that will visit Nayagarh on July 26 to investigate the matter. "We will visit the clinic near where the foetuses were found. We will also talk to the state administration and the police," Hembrom said.

A large number of body parts of newborn babies and foetuses were found on Sunday in a garbage pit close to a private nursing home at Nabaghanpur village, barely three km from Nayagarh where bodies of seven new-born babies were also recovered on July 14. Yesterday, foetuses were found in a drain near Golanthara village in Ganjam district of Orissa.