Death of newborn : Delay in reaching hospital the cause: probe report

Chandigarh: Delay in reaching the hospital caused the death of a newborn on August 22, after an ambulance carrying the baby allegedly got stuck in a traffic jam because of a Congress rally, the investigation report ordered by the state government revealed on Friday.

The child died soon after reaching PGIMS at Rohtak on Wednesday as the ambulance was stuck for "20 to 30 minutes" due to the cycle rally of Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar in Sonipat district, the report said.

Prepared by director-general of the state's health department Satish Agarwal, the report was submitted to Health Minister Anil Vij today.

"It was found that the ambulance was stuck in traffic for about 20 to 30 minutes due to jam caused by the cycle rally of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Chief, Dr Ashok Tanwar," the report said.

Vij had yesterday instructed Agarwal to form a special investigation team to probe the matter and submit a report at the earliest. He had also demanded police action while raising the issue with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The health minister said the members of the committee included deputy civil surgeon and senior medical officer who thoroughly investigated the matter.

NHRC issues notice to Haryana govt, Union health ministry

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission on Friday issued a notice to the Health Ministry and the Haryana government over media reports on the death of the newborn.

"The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that a newborn allegedly died as the ambulance carrying him could not reach to the hospital as it got stuck in the rally of a political party in Sonipat, Haryana, on August 22," it said.