20 babies die in state run hospital in eastern India

At least 20 babies have died at a hospital in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal in the past three days, a senior police official said Saturday. "The deaths took place at the state-run Malda Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal's Malda district. We are probing if there has been any negligence on part of doctors' treating the babies, mostly newborns," the official said on condition of anonymity. The head of the hospital has denied allegations of negligence. "We are getting reports that the children are malnourished," hospital head Abdur Rashid told the media. In May this year, some 16 babies had died at the same hospital.