Newborn dumped in flush tank at Panchkula hospital

Was spotted by a woman patient, following which the hospital staff was informed

The body of a newborn boy was recovered from a flush tank at the Panchkula civil hospital, Sector 6, on August 29.

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It was spotted by a woman patient, following which the hospital staff was informed. Sources said the umbilical cord, along with placenta, was still attached to the body.

Stating that a departmental inquiry has been initiated, chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Yogesh Sharma said: “According to preliminary investigation, a woman, accompanied by another woman and a man, reached the hospital, went to the washroom and later fled after delivering the baby. The newborn was found dead in the flush tank.”

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage shows the woman going to the toilet, he said.

However, some sanitation workers alleged the woman had been lying on a stretcher outside a ward for quite some time and went to the washroom after no one attended to her. Refuting the allegation, the CMO said the woman did not get an OPD or admission card. “Police and the hospital are probing the matter,” he said.

Inspector Rajeev Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 5, said a police team rushed to the hospital after getting information. “The identity of the baby’s parents could not be ascertained. We are checking the CCTV footage,” he said.

A case has been registered under Section 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body) of the Indian Penal Code.