Newborn mauled to death by stray dog in hospital's operating theatre

A newborn baby died at a negligent private hospital in Uttar Pradesh, India. Minutes after the baby's birth, a stray dog entered the operating theatre and tried to drag him away. The baby died even though the father managed to scare away the attacking animal. The hospital tried to cover up the incident by trying to pay off the family and claiming that the infant was stillborn.

On Monday morning, private finance firm employee Ravi Kumar and his wife Kanchan went to Akash Ganga Hospital. Kanchan was experiencing labour pains when she was admitted to the hospital. The hospital staff informed Ravi Kumar that his wife was unable to have a normal delivery as it was earlier planned. Instead, the doctors suggested that the child be delivered by caesarean section.

The worried father-to-be gave the hospital permission to operate on his wife. After waiting for a while, Ravi Kumar was informed that his wife had given birth to a son. The hospital informed him that his wife had been transferred from the operation theatre to a hospital bed while the newborn was still in the operation theatre.

Soon after Ravi Kumar received the news of the birth of his son, he heard the panicked hospital staff shouting about a dog in the operating theatre. Recalling the horrific incident, the mourning father told The Time of India that he rushed into the operating theatre.

He found the unresponsive newborn on the floor in a pool of blood. The baby had bite marks on the chest and left eye. Ravi Kumar claimed that while he was still in the operating theatre, the stray dog tried to enter the room to snatch the baby again. His shouts drove the animal away.

After the incident, the hospital tried to pay the family off in exchange for their silence. They also told the family that the infant was stillborn. However, a probe by the local authorities proved that the child was alive at birth and the death was caused by the dog's attack.

The owner of the hospital, Vijay Patel, and other staff members face charges under the Indian Penal Code, Section 304-A for death by negligence. The hospital, located nearly 450 km from the country's capital, is now under investigation for the infant's unfortunate death. It is unknown if authorities were able to catch the dog which attacked the baby.