Overview

• On August 18, staff and parents discovered a four-day-old infant dead and at least two others injured after they fell from beds or phototherapy units in the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital NICU GMCH Principal Dr Achyut Baishya has launched an internal inquiry and ordered a review of neonatal ward CCTV recordings to establish how the accident occurred
• Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed police to examine the footage and vowed stringent action should negligence be confirmed
• The deceased infant’s father filed an FIR at Bhangagarh Police Station and demanded a post-mortem, alleging lapses by on-duty nurses and doctors
• Hospital officials acknowledged that the NICU, designed for 70–80 infants, routinely exceeds capacity—sometimes placing multiple babies per bed—increasing scrutiny of infrastructure and staffing