Newborn's Charred Body Discovered After Fire at Madhya Pradesh Hospital Reveals Serious Safety Violations

The family of the woman has accused the hospital administration of severe negligence in handling the situation.

Bhopal:

Shock and anger erupted at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa when a partially burnt newborn's body was discovered during the cleaning of the gynaecology ward's operation theatre (OT), hours after a fire incident. This disturbing finding came late at night, despite the hospital administration's initial claims that there were no casualties from the fire.

The fire broke out around 1 pm on Sunday in the gynaecology department's operation theatre. Hospital officials attributed the incident to a short circuit and stated that the fire was quickly contained. At that time, management explicitly denied any fatalities. However, the situation dramatically shifted when cleaning staff discovered a newborn's burnt body inside the OT during post-fire cleanup, sparking accusations of negligence and attempted concealment.

Hospital management reported that a surgical procedure was in progress when the fire started. Hospital Superintendent Rahul Mishra explained that Kanchan Saket, a resident of Govindgarh, had delivered a stillborn baby during the operation. When the fire erupted, doctors were completing post-delivery sutures on the mother.

"During the emergency evacuation caused by the fire, the priority was to move the mother and other patients to safety. The stillborn baby's body, which was placed nearby in the operation theatre, was unintentionally left behind," Mishra explained. He confirmed that the baby's remains were later found severely burnt during cleaning operations and added that an investigation into the incident is underway.

The woman's family has alleged serious negligence by hospital administrators. They claim that officials deliberately concealed the incident throughout the day. According to family members, the hospital neither informed them about what happened to the newborn nor promptly handed over the remains. Only around midnight, after the matter was escalated to higher authorities, did the hospital officially acknowledge that the newborn's body had been burned in the fire.

Family members further allege that hospital staff initially removed the child's body wrapped in a sheet and attempted to suppress information about the incident to avoid responsibility.

When questioned about the fire and the newborn's death, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla stated he had received no information about a child being burned. "I was only briefed about the fire incident. No details regarding a newborn's body were shared with me," he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister indicated he would communicate with hospital management and make decisions after a thorough discussion. He later announced a complete investigation into the matter, promising strict action against those found responsible.

Notably, even though the Deputy Chief Minister acknowledged that Sanjay Gandhi Hospital lacks a Fire Safety NOC (No Objection Certificate), no preventive measures had been implemented before this incident, raising further concerns about systemic negligence.

According to official records, Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, the Super Speciality Hospital, and Gandhi Memorial Hospital currently operate without valid fire safety certificates. These facilities reportedly fail to comply with fire safety standards established by the municipal corporation.