A sanitation worker spotted the dog with the body of the newborn. (Representational)
A dog was seen eating the body of a stillborn baby outside a district hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Ashoknagar. The hospital has ordered an inquiry in the shocking incident. A sanitation worker spotted the dog with the body of the newborn and chased him away.
Dr DK Bhargava, Civil Surgeon at the Ashoknagar hospital told NDTV, "We got the information in the morning. We have now kept the body safely in the post-mortem room and have also informed the police. In earlier cases, we have seen that family members do not bury the dead bodies of newborns properly. They throw away the body in haste."
A similar incident had occurred outside the hospital last year in August, when stray dogs were found eating the body of a newborn.
Locals claim that this is the fourth such incident in the last two years.
The hospital, which treats nearly 400 patients daily, is facing a shortage of doctors and other health personnel. There are 24 approved posts for doctors at the hospital, of which 20 are vacant. The hospital has a sanction for 49 ward boys and technicians. But currently, 31 of these posts are vacant.
The situation is the same at other medical colleges and government in the state. A total of 856 posts are lying vacant in 13 medical colleges across the state. There are only 4,815 doctors at government hospitals, despite a total vacancy of 8,904. There is also a shortage of 16,000 nursing staff.