Baby girl found dead in hospital

Body dumped in toilet, cops say baby premature

A newborn baby girl was found dead in the toilet of a government hospital in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning, police said.

Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital authorities informed the police about it at around 10 a.m.

“We received a call from the hospital authorities in the morning reporting that a newborn baby was found dead in a bag in a toilet at the OPD block of the hospital,” a senior police officer said.

The police later confirmed that the body was unclaimed. The initial investigation revealed the girl was born premature by four to ten weeks.

“It seems that the body was dumped before the toilet was closed last night,” the officer added.

 The police are currently checking the hospital records to find details of the deliveries that took place this month. “We are investigating the suspicious death and will check every delivery carried out at the hospital recently,” the officer said.

The housekeeping staff who found the child’s body are also being questioned. A post-mortem was conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, but the police said the cause of death would not be revealed.

A case has also been registered at the Malviya Nagar Police Station against unknown persons under section 318 of the Indian Penal Code (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body).

“We will work further, if we manage to get any clue, otherwise the case will be closed as untraced,” a police officer said.

If the culprits are held, they shall be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to two years, or fined, or both. Police said that no action will be taken against the hospital.

Better security
“The hospital would strengthen its security network to avoid any such incident in the future,” Dr Vinod Kumar, Medical Superintendent and Consultant Medicine of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, said.

“The toilet on the ground floor of the OPD Block is one of the most frequented in the hospital, so it would be tough to identify the culprit. However, it is to be noted that we keep the toilets locked when the respective wards are closed,” Kumar said.

He said after the incident senior officials of the hospital held a meeting with the Public Works Department and decided that a CCTV camera network would be installed at crucial areas of the hospital immediately.