The National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Thursday sent a notice to authorities in Punjab after taking cognizance of a complaint alleging that a woman, reportedly from an SC community, had to deliver her child on the floor of a Pathankot hospital after allegedly being denied a delivery room.
The notice has been issued to the authorities at the Civil Hospital in Pathankot, where the incident is said to have taken place, videos and pictures of which have gone viral on social media, leading to outrage among many. The Commission has duly sought an action taken report within seven days from the concerned police officials and the district administration.
In the notice, the NCSC said it was acting on a complaint from one Rakit Mahajan and others regarding the harassment of the woman and the negligence of duty at the hospital concerned. It added that it was beginning an independent investigation into the incident as per its mandate and sought the relevant information from the state authorities for it.
The incident is said to be from Tuesday this week, when the woman, from Peepla in Pathankot, was brought to the hospital by her husband after she had gone into labour. The woman’s family have alleged that they were denied entry and referred to an Amritsar hospital instead, following which the woman was allegedly forced to deliver her child on the floor of a corridor in the hospital.
