Newborn's Charred Body Found Hours After Blaze In Madhya Pradesh Hospital

Panic and outrage gripped Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Rewa after the partially burnt body of a newborn was discovered during the cleaning of the operation theatre (OT) in the gynaecology ward, hours after a fire incident. The revelation came late at night, even as the hospital administration initially maintained that there were no casualties in the fire.

The fire broke out around 1 pm on Sunday in the operation theatre of the gynaecology department. Hospital authorities attributed the blaze to a short circuit and claimed that the situation was swiftly brought under control. At the time, the management categorically denied any loss of life. However, the narrative changed dramatically when a newborn's burnt body was found inside the OT during post-fire cleaning, triggering allegations of negligence and cover-up.

According to the hospital management, a surgical procedure was underway when the fire erupted. Hospital Superintendent Rahul Mishra stated that the woman, identified as Kanchan Saket, a resident of Govindgarh, had delivered a stillborn baby during the operation. At the time of the fire, doctors were stitching the mother after delivery.

"In the chaos caused by the fire, priority was given to evacuating the mother and other patients. The newborn's body, which was kept nearby in the operation theatre, was inadvertently left behind," Mishra said. He confirmed that the baby's body was later found severely burnt during cleaning operations. The incident, he added, is under investigation.

The family of the woman has alleged gross negligence by the hospital administration. According to them, the incident was deliberately kept hidden throughout the day. They claim the hospital neither informed them about the condition of the newborn nor handed over the body immediately. It was only around midnight, after the matter escalated to higher authorities, that the hospital officially acknowledged that the newborn's body had been burned in the fire.

Family members allege that the hospital staff initially took away the child's body, wrapped in a sheet and attempted to suppress the incident to avoid accountability.

When Madhya Pradesh Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla was questioned about the fire and the death of the newborn, he stated that he had no information about any child being burned. "I was only informed about the fire incident. No information was given to me regarding a newborn's body," he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said he would speak to the hospital management and that a decision would be taken after a detailed discussion. He later announced that the entire matter would be investigated and strict action would be taken against those found responsible.

Notably, even as the Deputy Chief Minister acknowledged that Sanjay Gandhi Hospital does not have a Fire Safety NOC, no immediate corrective action had been taken before the incident, raising further questions about systemic negligence.

According to official records, Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, the Super Speciality Hospital, and Gandhi Memorial Hospital currently do not possess valid fire safety certificates. These hospitals reportedly fail to meet the fire safety norms laid down by the municipal corporation.