New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) The NHRC has sought a report within two weeks from the Delhi government over the death of a destitute patient’s baby after delivery in a government-run hospital’s washroom, an official said on Tuesday.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of a media report over the incident in the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), where the destitute woman was admitted on September 7, under a court order.

The media report said that the baby died due to an alleged lack of facilities at the hospital.

The report claimed that the hospital staff took a lot of time to even manage a clamp to cut the umbilical cord before taking the woman and the newborn to the nearby Swami Dayanand Hospital by ambulance. The infant could not be saved despite being rushed to the hospital.

The Commission, in a statement, said that the contents of the media report, if true, raise a serious issue of human rights violations.

“Therefore, the NHRC has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks,” it said.

According to the media report, carried on September 10, the hospital staff confirmed that the expecting mother was admitted there despite the IHBAS lacking the necessary facilities for childbirth. She is now, reportedly, continuing treatment at another government hospital.

Earlier, the Commission took suo motu cognisance of a media report that one worker died and three others were critically injured while cleaning a sewer in the Ashok Vihar area of north Delhi.

The NHRC said on Monday that it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary of the Government of NCT of Delhi, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, and the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.

According to the media report, co-workers of the victims alleged that no safety equipment was provided by the private construction company that had engaged them for the task.

The Police Control Room reportedly received a late-night call about the incident, and all four workers were rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital, where doctors declared one of them dead. The other three were admitted to the ICU in critical condition. The manager of the company is being questioned.

–IANS

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