Infant deaths: Tarun Gogoi demands judicial inquiry

The infants had reportedly died due to serious neo-natal medical complications.

"'The death of infants exposes the poor health policy of the present BJP government. Do lives of newborns have no value? We demand a judicial inquiry into the deaths," Gogoi told reporters here.

He also alleged that the present Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been the longest serving minister of the department and the death of infants have only exposed his failure to provide proper healthcare to people of the state.

Gogoi also questioned Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for keeping mum on the issue.

According to the report of the expert committee constituted by the Director of Medical Education to inquire into the deaths of the infants, the condition of the deceased newborns were very critical and most of the mothers had pregnancy-related complications.

All the newborns were diagnosed with severe birth asphyxia with four of the eight babies having low birth rate and most of the mothers did not have proper antenatal care and attended hospital very late in labour while two of the babies were delivered at home.

Most of the mothers were in critical conditions with complications like oligo-hydromnios, severe anaemia etc. but they were saved due to adequate and prompt treatment in the hospital.

The report further pointed out that there was no negligence on the part of the doctors, nurses and working staff while the infrastructure and other facilities of Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) was adequate.

Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had also told reporters yesterday that the infants had died due to serious neo-natal medical complications and not due to human negligence but were related to purely critical nature of the cases like age of the mother, weight of the baby etc.

The dead infants include seven male and a female.