A newborn child in a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly died because his parents didn't have Rs.50 to pay the nurse who refused to tie the umbilical cord.
Ram Milan, the father of the baby boy who died, said he had taken his wife to the government hospital in Satna for a safe delivery. But fate had other things in store for him.
"The nurse on duty demanded Rs. 50 for tying the umbilical cord. When I expressed helplessness, she left the child unattended and he died due to excessive bleeding from the cord," Milan told a television channel.
"It would have been better if I had taken my wife to a midwife. My child wouldn't have died then," he rued.
Reacting to the news, the hospital's civil surgeon Usha Soni said over the phone: "We have come across the complaint of the deceased's father and an inquiry will be instituted to look into the matter."