Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday (September 4, 2025) hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after two infants died following rat bites in the neonatal ICU of the government-run Maharaj Yashwantrao Hospital in Indore.
Writing in Hindi on X, Mr. Gandhi termed the deaths “outright murder” and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav over the incident, saying government hospitals were “no longer saving lives”.
“In Indore, two newborn babies died due to rat bites in Madhya Pradesh’s largest government hospital – this is no accident, this is outright murder. This incident is so horrific, inhuman, and insensitive that even hearing about it sends shivers down the spine. A child has been snatched from a mother’s lap, simply because the government failed to fulfill its most basic responsibility,” Mr. Gandhi wrote.
Rats gnawed two newborn girls in the hospital last week. The children died on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) and Wednesday (September 3, 2025), with officials attributing the deaths to pneumonia and septicaemia, respectively. The hospital administration said the two infants had multiple health problems and were critical.
Following public criticism, authorities suspended some hospital staffers, removed a nursing superintendent from post, and issued notices to various hospital officials over negligence. A firm responsible for pest control at the facility was fined ₹1 lakh.
Attacking the ruling BJP government, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the health sector has been “deliberately handed over to private hands where treatment is now only for the rich”.
“And for the poor, government hospitals are no longer life-saving but have become dens of death. The administration, as always, says ‘There will be an investigation’ but the question is – when you can’t even ensure the safety of newborn children, what right do you have to run the government,” he asked.
Indore Collector Asheesh Singh visited the hospital and inspected the paediatric ward. Speaking to reporters, he insisted that the children died due to existing illnesses.
The State Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the hospital administration, asking it to submit a detailed report.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued a notice to the Indore Collector and sought a report on the matter within three days. The Commission said it has received a complaint from an NGO that demanded an independent inquiry into the incident and directions to the State authorities to conduct pest control at critical units of all hospitals in Madhya Pradesh.
Late on Wednesday (September 3, 2025), Chief Minister Yadav had said that any kind of negligence “will not be tolerated” and that a high-level probe has been ordered into the incident.
