Hospital searches for newborn after video shows dog fleeing with baby in its mouth

Authorities in Jharkhand conducted a search at Medinirai Medical College and Hospital in Palamu on Tuesday after a video purportedly showing a stray dog carrying a newborn baby on the hospital premises went viral on social media.Officials searched several areas of the hospital campus but found no concrete information about the newborn or the dog during the initial operation.The video widely shared on social media showed a stray dog running away with what appears to be a newborn baby clamped in its mouth. India Today could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.Deputy Commissioner Dilip Pratap Singh Sekhawat said the administration had taken note of the viral video and launched an investigation. The search was led by the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police, along with the sub-divisional magistrate, news agency PTI reported. "We searched various areas of the hospital campus for the newborn, including the vicinity of the post-mortem house and nearby shrubbery," Sekhawat told PTI.Following the initial search, the deputy commissioner directed the sub-divisional officer to coordinate with the hospital superintendent, the local station house officer and a team from the Medininagar Municipal Corporation to conduct a thorough search for the baby and the dog. Officials were also instructed to examine CCTV footage from the area around the post-mortem house, deploy a police dog squad and speak to local community health workers, residents and passers-by to establish the facts.“The primary objective of the administration is to locate the newborn, verify the facts surrounding the incident, and uncover any negligence to fix accountability and ensure that appropriate action is taken in accordance with the law,” Sekhawat said.The administration is continuing its search to locate the newborn and the dog, verify the authenticity of the video and determine whether any negligence was involved.- Ends