Tension erupts after infant death; police resort to lathicharge

Nayagarh: Tension erupted at Nayagarh district headquarters hospital today following the death of an infant, who died after swallowing a bottle cap.

According to sources, an 8-month-old baby of Golgola village under Nuagaon block had swallowed a bottle cap while playing this Sunday following which he was admitted to the headquarters hospital.

But he died while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Family members of the deceased infant blamed the absence of paediatricians as the main reason behind the death of the child.

"My child had swallowed a bottle cap while playing. When we brought him to the hospital he was declared dead. There were no doctors in the hospital when we came here," father of the infant said.

On the other hand the doctor who first saw the infant said that the condition of the infant was already bad when he was brought here.

"It was probably a bottle cap stuck in his throat and the condition of the patient was very bad when he was brought here," Dr. Monalisa Swain said.

Irate over the incident, locals resorted to vandalism and blocked the National Highway-57.

Due to the road blockade, vehicular movement on the Khurda-Bolangir highway was disrupted for a few hours. Police who arrived at the spot after receiving the information tried to pacify the public but the protestors continued to stage demonstration following which the cops resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd.