Stray Dog Seen Carrying Infant’s Severed Head Near Patiala Hospital: NHRC Steps In, Seeks Report from Punjab Govt
(Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
Patiala, Punjab | September 03, 2025 — In a deeply disturbing incident that has sent shockwaves across Punjab, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has taken Suo motu cognizance of media reports of a stray dog carrying the severed head of an infant near Government Rajindra Hospital in Patiala district.
The chilling sight was reportedly witnessed on August 26, 2025, by attendants of patients at the hospital. According to eyewitness accounts, stray dogs have been a common menace within the hospital premises, raising serious questions about sanitation, safety, and administrative negligence. The hospital attendants alleged that despite repeated complaints, authorities have failed to curb the unchecked movement of stray animals in and around the facility.
Taking the matter seriously, the NHRC Chairman Justice V. Ramasubramanian observed that if the reported incident is true, it indicates not only gross negligence but also a grave violation of human rights. The Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary of Punjab and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patiala, directing them to submit detailed reports within two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Medical Superintendent of Government Rajindra Hospital has denied that any newborn has gone missing from the facility. He clarified that in all recent child deaths; bodies were handed over to families after proper documentation. He further suggested the possibility that the infant remains might have been abandoned or dumped outside the hospital premises, though this has yet to be confirmed by police investigations.
The NHRC has sought accountability on multiple fronts — from lapses in hospital security and sanitation to the broader issue of stray animal management in public health institutions. Civil society groups and child rights activists have also condemned the incident, calling it an “unimaginable tragedy” that reflects systemic failures in public healthcare infrastructure.
With the Commission’s intervention, the onus is now on state authorities and district police to determine how the severed remains came to be found near a hospital, and to ensure such horrifying lapses do not recur.
