Newborn girl strangled at hospital in M.P.'s Ashok Nagar; cops suspect family's role

A newborn girl has allegedly been strangled to death inside the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of a hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Ashoknagar, with police suspecting the involvement of her mother or grandmother, officials said on Sunday (October 4, 2026).

The baby, the third daughter of a joint family from Sakrra village in the Chanderi area, was born around 11.50 p.m. on Friday (October 2, 2026) and was admitted to the SNCU shortly after. She was found dead between 3 and 4 pm on Saturday (October 3, 2026), Kotwali police Station House Officer Ravipratap Singh Chauhan told PTI over the phone.

According to the investigators, the baby's mother and grandmother were at the SNCU.

"We are investigating the death and strongly suspect that either the child's mother or grandmother was involved in the strangulation. The needle of suspicion was more on the mother," Mr. Chauhan said.