Indore Hospital Faces Outrage After Infant Dies Following Rat Bite in NICU; Parents Say They Were Kept in Dark

‘Didn’t abandon daughter’: Parents of infant who died after rat bite at NICU say Indore hospital kept them in the dark

The grieving parents of a newborn who died at Indore’s Maharaja Yeshwantrao (MY) Hospital after reportedly being bitten by a rat in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have accused the hospital of negligence and of failing to keep them informed.

Devram and his wife, Manju, from Sardarpur in Dhar district (Madhya Pradesh), said they waited anxiously for days outside the NICU after their daughter’s surgery but were neither allowed to meet her nor receive updates from doctors.

“When I left the hospital, my daughter was in good condition. She was not weak,” Manju said. “We were told she needed surgery and would get better. The hospital administration said they would call us, but we heard nothing. We thought that after the surgery, I would finally have my daughter in my arms.”

The couple said the hospital had assured them they would be contacted once their daughter’s condition stabilized. With no updates and financial constraints mounting, the parents eventually returned to their village — only to later hear from tribal activists that their daughter had been bitten by a rat and had died.

Their child was one of two infants bitten by rats in the NICU earlier this week; both died, one on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday.

Devram rejected suggestions that they abandoned their child:

“We were assured by the hospital that they would call us. There is a gate pass system, so we waited for the call. We never abandoned our daughter.”

The incident sparked protests outside MGM Medical College, which is attached to the hospital, with activists from the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) group joining the parents.

Hospital dean Dr Arvind Ghangoria admitted to lapses but denied that the infant died due to the rat bite.

“The girl’s death is not due to the rat bite. She was bitten by a rat, and strict action was taken against all officials,” he said, noting that the parents were not present at the time of death, prompting the hospital to inform the police as per procedure.

Following the outrage, the hospital suspended two nursing officers and removed the nursing superintendent. Show-cause notices were also issued to the nursing officer in charge and the head of pediatric surgery.

The case has triggered widespread anger and raised urgent questions about patient safety and accountability in one of Indore’s most prominent medical institutions.