NHRC, India takes suo motu cognizance of the reported death of three newborns and injuries to four others due to a fire incident at the Sick Newborn Care Unit of the District[...]

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that three newborns died and four others were injured in a fire incident at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the District Women's Hospital at Amravati, Maharashtra on 24th August 2026. Reportedly, the incident occurred due to a blast in the ventilator machine.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued a notice to the Maharashtra Chief Secretary, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. The report is expected to include the status of health of the injured babies and disbursement of compensation announced by the government.
According to the media report, carried on 25th August 2026, there were nine babies in the SNCU when the incident happened. The condition of one of the four injured babies has been reported to be critical.