Mhow, 8 June

A stray dog was seen clutching a dead newborn in its jaws near the toilet of a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district, prompting police to launch a probe into the matter, officials said.

A security guard managed to retrieve the body after shooing away the dog at the civil hospital in Mhow, located 25 km from the district headquarters, where the incident took place on Saturday.

The child's body had been partially eaten by dogs, as per sources.

The hospital authorities and police have begun a probe into the antecedents of the newborn and the chain of events that followed, officials said on Saturday.

"As per the CCTV footage, the incident happened between 1.30 am and 2 am. A young girl was seen going into the toilet during this period. When we checked with staff, we found the 17-year-old girl had come here complaining of colic and had been admitted at 9 pm on Friday. We suspect the girl gave birth to a child in the toilet," Mhow civil hospital in-charge Dr HR Verma told PTI.

The girl disappeared from the hospital soon after with an unidentified man, he said.

Some officials said the infant, which in all possibility was stillborn, was then taken away by a dog from the toilet area before a security guard managed to retrieve the body.

"We conducted the post mortem on Saturday morning and its report is awaited. A preliminary report has said the delivery was premature. The body has been placed in the mortuary. Police have begun a probe into this incident and we will provide all the CCTV footage to help them," Dr Verma said.

The hospital had three entry points, which are kept open at night. Stray dogs enter through a gate situated near the store room, sources said.

The newborn's body had been partially eaten by dogs, they said.

Verma admitted the body was mutilated.

"I have directed that all gates be kept closed at night, while a security guard will stand near the main gate to keep an eye on people and shoo away the dogs," Verma added.

Mhow police station in-charge Rahul Sharma said a probe has been launched into the case.

"The hospital authorities have given the CCTV footage along with details the girl furnished at the time of admission," he said.

The incident occurred four days after a pack of stray dogs killed a four-year-old boy on Suwasra-Runija road in MP's Mandsaur district.