Adnan Ali, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: An appalling incident has come to light from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, exposing criminal negligence and the collapse of basic healthcare in the state. At Maharaja Yeshwantrao Government Hospital, the city’s largest state-run facility, two newborns died after being mauled by rats inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The horror surfaced on September 7, when the body of three-day-old Gudiya (name changed) was discovered in a mutilated state inside the hospital. Rodents had gnawed at her tiny hands, leaving four fingers missing.
Gudiya was one of two infants mauled by rats inside the hospital. Her family said she was attacked on August 31 and died two days later (September 2), while under treatment. Another newborn, Roshan (name changed), also bitten in the same ward, died the following day.
Hospital authorities denied that the deaths were caused by rat bites, claiming both babies had serious medical problems. Families and activists, however, accused the hospital of gross negligence and even of trying to cover up Gudiya’s mauling.
Gudiya’s father Devaram Katara, a daily wage labourer from the Bhil tribal community, said his daughter was born at a government hospital in Dhar on August 31. Soon after birth, doctors referred her to Indore for urgent surgery for a congenital defect known as Imperforate Anus.
“She was admitted to the ICU that night. We were told we would be contacted if needed. I saw her only once, when she was taken inside the operation theatre. After that, I was not allowed in because I did not have a visitor’s pass,” he told TwoCircles.net.
“I am a poor man. I had Rs 200, which we had given for an ambulance from Dhar to Indore. The hospital said they would call us if anything was needed. And therefore, we returned home,” he said.
Katara returned to Dhar, where his wife was still admitted. Days later, the family learnt of Gudiya’s death not from the hospital, but through members of tribal rights group Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS). Its national president Lokesh Muchhalda alleged that the hospital was preparing to cremate the baby as an “unclaimed body” without informing her parents.
“The hospital administration had declared Gudiya as an unclaimed body and was preparing for her last rights. We learnt that the baby was from Dhar and belonged to a tribal family. When we found out, our team quickly traced, reached out and brought the family to the hospital,” he said.
However, hospital officials have strongly denied any wrongdoing. Medical Superintendent Dr Ashok Yadav said, “This is a tragic and sensitive incident, but the baby did not die because of rats. She was suffering from serious congenital conditions.”
Dean Dr Arvind Kumar Ghanghoria too said the baby had serious health complications, but in the same breath claimed the hospital had “taken action”. The contract with the pest control agency was scrapped, a doctor and a nursing officer were suspended and pest control was ordered daily instead of once in two weeks.
But officials could not clearly explain why the family was not promptly informed about the alleged rat bite or the death. “We tried contacting the family on the number provided and even the police attempted to reach them. By the time the parents arrived, the matter was already under police investigation as per the protocol for unclaimed bodies,” he said.
The case has triggered outrage, raising questions about hygiene, accountability and the treatment of poor tribal families in state-run hospitals.
On September 4, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi lashed out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after reports of the deaths.
Writing in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter), he called the incident “outright murder” and held Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav responsible. He said government hospitals were failing the very people they were meant to serve.
“In Indore, two newborn babies died due to rat bites in Madhya Pradesh’s largest government hospital. This is no accident but an outright murder. This incident is so horrific, inhuman and insensitive that even hearing about it sends shivers down the spine. A child has been snatched from a mother’s lap, simply because the government failed to fulfil its most basic responsibility,” he posted.
Amid political reactions and official denials, the grieving family is still searching for justice.
“We are not educated. Both of us survive by working as labourers. Our only demand from the government is that whoever is guilty should be punished, and we should be given justice,” Devaram said.
Muchhalda added that JAYS had given the hospital administration 10 days to register a case of culpable homicide. “If our demands are not met, we will launch a protest and, if needed, we will also go to court,” he said.