ROURKELA: Rourkela police recovered the body of a newborn baby girl from a toilet pan near the women’s observation room at the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) on Tuesday.
IIC of Sector 19 police station Baidyanath Sahu said the incident came to light on Tuesday morning when a sweeper, while cleaning the toilet, noticed the baby’s hand inside the pan and alerted authorities. On being informed, police reached the hospital and managed to trace the adult mother, who is reportedly unwed, to Vedvyas area of the city. The body has been preserved for autopsy, which will be conducted on Wednesday.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the woman arrived alone at IGH in an ambulance at around 11.15 pm on Monday. She reportedly complained of acute stomach pain to the attending doctor. After initial consultation, the doctor asked her to sit in the women’s observation room.
Police said she later went to the toilet, where she reportedly gave birth to the baby. She then returned to the observation room. By then she was bleeding, and the attendant, assuming it was menstrual bleeding, provided her with sanitary napkins.
Sahu said after some time, the woman left the hospital premises unnoticed. Police suspect the baby may have been stillborn, but the exact cause of death will be known after the autopsy report comes out.
An unnatural death case has been registered and further investigation is on. Strict action will be taken if foul play is detected in the autopsy report, police said.