Dogs eat dead newborn’s head in UP’s Lalitpur, hospital alleges family threw baby’s body

Dogs ate a deceased newborn's head in Uttar Pradesh's Lalitpur, in a case where the hospital claims it gave the body to the family and alleged that they threw the baby in a plastic bag, according to an NDTV report.

The infant born on February 9 at the District Women's Hospital at Lalitpur Medical College was admitted to the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) due to being unwell and underweight.

“The child was born with congenital defects. The child's head wasn't fully developed. He didn't have a spine either and weighed 1.3kg. He was alive and had a heart rate of 80 beats per minute (bpm) when we moved him to SNCU. We were not sure if the child would survive,” Dr Meenakshi Singh, Chief Medical Officer told NDTV.

The child died by the evening, according to the doctor. The body was handed over to the family.

According to the NDTV report citing the doctor, the child's aunt had taken the body. “We have the receiving with a thumb impression of the aunt,” said Dr Singh.

The dog attack

On Tuesday afternoon, the hospital administration received the news of a dog attack at its campus.

Upon investigation, the NDTV report said, the hospital administration found a child's headless body on the ground. They alleged that the family abandoned the body.

“We believe the family threw the child's body in a plastic bag. The child had the hospital tag attached which is how we could identify,” said Dr Singh.

The body was removed hours before the police were informed.

Following the incident, Lalitpur Medical College Principal D Nath formed a committee of four doctors and has ordered them to send the complete investigation report related to the newborn within 24 hours.

Notably, this is not the first time the Lalitpur Medical College has come under scrutiny. There have been several reports of negligence in the past as well.