Parents of newborns who allegedly died after being bitten by rats at Indore’s Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital staged a protest on Saturday, demanding accountability and stronger punitive action against hospital authorities.
The sit-in was supported by the Jai Adivasi Yuva Sangathan (JAYS), which accused the hospital management of gross negligence and urged the administration to suspend senior officials immediately. The protest erupted days after two newborns admitted to the hospital’s NICU were reportedly bitten by rodents between September 1 and 2. One baby succumbed on September 2 morning, while the second died the following day.
Dev Ram, father of one of the infants, said his child had been referred from Dhar district on 30 August and admitted to the intensive care unit at MY Hospital.
“The Child was born last Saturday (August 30) in Dhar district, and then the baby was referred here at MY Hospital in Indore. We got the child admitted to the NICU ward in the hospital. A madam asked me to leave and said that she would call me for further updates. But I did not receive any call. I was not informed about any mishap. When these brothers (JAYS workers) and journalists arrived, I then became aware of the issue. We want legal action to be taken against the concerned people for negligence,” he said..
Following a day-long protest, the Indore district administration handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh as ex gratia compensation. The cheque was accepted by Dev Ram, who said the family was satisfied with the assurance of further action before carrying the child’s body back to Dhar for the last rites.
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JAYS president Lokesh Mujalda, who accompanied the grieving family, said, “We came to know about the news that two newborns died at Indore hospital after being bitten by rats. A family member of one child was in the hospital while another child was declared abandoned. Still, as soon as we came to know that the child was a resident of Dhar district and belonged to a tribal community, we requested the collector that we would find the family member of the child last night. After that, we succeeded in finding the family and arrived here with them at the hospital today.”
He further demanded sweeping action against the hospital authorities. “We demand that the dean, HOD and superintendent of the hospital should be immediately suspended so that such negligence should not occur anywhere. Additionally, a compensation of Rs 1 crore should be given to the family of each child. The post-mortem report of the child should also be made public. If our demands are not met, then we will not accept the body of the child,” Mujalda said.
Hospital dean Arvind Ghanghoriya maintained that disciplinary measures had already been taken against those found responsible. “Following the incident, a deputy superintendent rank doctor, Dr Mukesh Jaiswal, has been suspended, and three nursing officers have been suspended. Additionally, the superintendent of MY hospital, Dr Ashok Yadav, the HOD, Dr Brijesh Lahoti, the assistant HOD and the senior nurse, who is in charge of the ICU, have been served a show-cause notice. We have taken strict action on the matter. We have also written a letter to the state government requesting the termination of the contracts of pest control agencies, and a process for this purpose is underway. A new agency has been hired and pest control is being done regularly,” he maintained.
When questioned about the hospital’s failure to inform the family, Ghanghoriya evaded a direct response, adding that the infant was already critical. “The child was on the verge of death and such a child could not be saved in any hospital across the world,” he said. A high-level inquiry by the state government has since been initiated.
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