Woman delivers on road in Odisha, NHRC issues notice

New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the chief secretary of Odisha taking suo motu cognizance of a media report saying that a woman delivered a baby on the road after being forcibly driven away from the maternity ward of a hospital.

The media carried a report April 6, 2012 on a woman Rosi Jena, who was admitted to the Puri District Hospital at 9 a.m. April 5 and struggled with labour pains till 7 p.m.

The attending doctor at the hospital advised an operation and asked her parents to arrange money for this. As her parents were not able to arrange the money, the doctor advised them to shift Rosi to some other hospital or nursing home.

Subsequently, the hospital authorities forcibly discharged Rosi from the maternity ward. Before she could be shifted to another hospital, she delivered a girl child in front of the hospital in an auto-rickshaw.

Rosi and her child were re-admitted for further treatment only after a mob assembled in front of the hospital protested against the doctor's inhuman conduct.

"The Commission while issuing notice has observed that the allegations of the press report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of right to health of the woman," said an NHRC release.

"The Commission has asked the Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha to submit report in the matter within four weeks and also directed him to inform the Commission about the state of health of Rosi and the newly born child along with the disciplinary action, if any, initiated against the delinquent doctor," the release added.