Investigating officer TI K.G. Shukla said the police will seize the CCTV DVR from the mortuary after the hospital dean approves the request. The move comes after officers found the existing footage unusable due to poor lighting and outdated cameras. “The post-mortem will determine the gender of the infants. Mortuary staff and doctors will be questioned,” the TI said.
The case came to light after hospital employee Vinod Yadav discovered the bodies in a garbage fire and informed the Superintendent and Dean. Police were notified only after their approval, resulting in a delay of more than 10 hours. By the time officers arrived, the partially burnt infants had been placed inside blue drums within the mortuary premises for examination.
Forensic sources said both babies were stillborn, with uncut umbilical cords and no signs of post-delivery cleaning, suggesting a likely home delivery. A detailed autopsy report is expected soon. Police are now seeking records of recent births from Hamidia Hospital’s gynaecology department and gathering information from nearby neighbourhoods to trace the mother, who they suspect may have acted out of fear of social stigma.
The discovery has raised serious questions about security at the GMC–Hamidia Hospital complex, which has more than 200 security personnel on duty. Despite this, the presence of burnt newborns within the campus has exposed a major lapse. Authorities have locked the post-mortem house and deployed guards as a five-member medical team conducted the autopsy under video recording.
Police will next interrogate mortuary staff and the doctor on duty, while technical experts work to retrieve any usable footage from the seized DVR.
