Thirteen women who died after sterilisation operations in central India were apparently killed by tainted drugs, officials say.

The tablets are likely to have contained a chemical commonly used in rat poison, officials in Chhattisgarh state said yesterday.

Dozens of women who had surgery in the government sterilisation campaign fell ill and at least 13 died. The state's chief medical officer said post-mortem examinations did not suggest surgical faults. The doctor involved is in custody accused of performing too many procedures in one day.