Police on Wednesday booked an unidentified woman for allegedly drowning her newborn girl by flushing her down a toilet at a civil hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, after a post-mortem confirmed the infant was alive when submerged.
Post-mortem report established that the baby was breathing when the mother flushed her in the toilet (Pexel)
The infant’s body was discovered in the hospital toilet on Monday, but Wednesday’s post-mortem report established that the baby was breathing when placed there, said Sudha Bakshi, the in-charge block medical officer.
In the report, the baby’s lungs and stomach contained water, confirming drowning as the cause of death, she added.
Police registered the case on Wednesday and launched an investigation. Parasia sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Jitendra Jat said, “As many as 15 pregnant women had visited OPD for check-ups on Monday. Fourteen women have been identified while one remains missing. It is suspected that the woman gave birth to the baby in the toilet and then flushed her down before fleeing.”
A hospital nurse first spotted the newborn’s hand and head trapped in the toilet and alerted staff. The body was retrieved after police oversaw the demolition of the commode nearly seven hours later.
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.
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