Denied Bed, Woman Delivers Baby On Punjab Hospital Floor

A woman was allegedly forced to deliver her child on the floor of the civil hospital in Punjab's Pathankot after she was denied admission to the labour room, prompting the opposition BJP to demand strong action from the AAP government against the erring officials.

A purported video of the incident, which happened on Thursday, has gone viral on the Internet. Sharing it on Twitter, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla slammed the "the world-class health model" of the Bhagwant Mann government, alleging it was spending money on advertisements as the poor people of the state suffered.

In another tweet, he said the situation is no better either in Delhi, which the AAP also rules. "In Delhi, it is no better! Ho-halla on Mohalla Clinics but where are the world-class hospitals?" he said.

After a public outcry, Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Harbir Singh said he had sought details about the incident from the civil surgeon but he is "not satisfied" with the answers.

"I've contacted the civil surgeon and asked for details about the incident. But I'm not satisfied with the answers. If a woman entered the hospital, it becomes the hospital's responsibility to take care of her. I've ordered an inquiry and action will be taken against the guilty," Mr Singh said.

He, however, said the woman's version of the events was different from that of the doctors at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging him to book the persons responsible "for playing with the lives of the patients".

"In the light of this shameful act, exposing the prevailing state of affairs in the state government hospitals in my constituency, I shall be grateful if you could have this serious matter looked into ensuring that those responsible for it are booked for playing with the lives of the patients," Mr Deol wrote.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)