Needle found in baby's abdomen: Police book Kottayam Medical College staff

Kottayam: The Gandhinagar police have registered a case against staff of Kottayam Medical College Hospital following a complaint that a needle was left lodged in a newborn baby's abdomen for nearly a year after her birth.

According to the FIR, the staff of the hospital's Gynaecology NICU acted negligently, resulting in the needle getting lodged in the baby's abdomen. The FIR states that the incident could have posed a serious threat to the child's life.
An internal probe by a three-member hospital panel found no lapse.

Bineesh told Onmanorama that the police action followed a complaint lodged by the family around a month ago. "They called us on September 1 and said that further action will follow after recording the version of the hospital authorities," he said.

The child, Adwika, was born at Kottayam Medical College Hospital on June 24, 2025, and was subsequently shifted to the hospital's NICU.
"On the evening of June 25, we noticed a sharp projection on the right side of her stomach," Bineesh said.

The family informed a doctor about the swelling and a scan was conducted. However, according to Bineesh, the scan was of the child's head and not the area where the projection was noticed.

"They told us that there was nothing to worry about. They gave some medicines for the child," he said. Adwika was discharged on June 30.

However, the child continued to cry after returning home and could not lie on her right side. The family then took her to the Institute of Child Health at Kottayam Medical College.

"The doctor called the NICU doctor and then prescribed treatment based on that," Bineesh said. Adwika was subsequently advised to undergo a scan. The doctor referred her to a laboratory for the procedure. 

"The scanning was done, excluding the part where the needle was lodged. When asked, they said it was okay and that it was the procedure," Bineesh said. He said the family trusted the doctors and returned home.

However, Adwika's condition did not improve. She continued to cry frequently and also suffered weight loss. "We thought she was crying because she was hungry. She was not taking food properly," Bineesh said.

The family continued giving her the prescribed medicines. Bineesh said they later noticed that she would cry when the area where the needle was lodged was touched, but they did not know the reason. "She also could not lie down in a baby cradle," he said.

A turning point came in July this year when Bineesh was playing with his daughter. As he lifted her, she suddenly developed severe pain in her abdomen and began crying loudly.

The family immediately took her to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where doctors conducted a scan and found a needle lodged in her abdomen. It was subsequently removed through surgery. The removed needle is currently kept at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

Bineesh alleged that two days after the surgery, a woman from Kottayam Medical College visited the hospital and enquired about the procedure. "If they are not guilty, why did they come and enquire about this?" he asked.

However, Bineesh said the response from the Kottayam Medical College authorities was initially reassuring when the family raised the issue with them. "They were very polite to us and assured us that sincere action would be taken. They told us that the person responsible for the issue would be punished. However, nothing happened," he said.
"Later, they told us that these are not big issues," he said.

Bineesh said he wants the police investigation to continue and those responsible to be held accountable. "Let the persons responsible for this come before the law," he said.

Bineesh said Adwika is doing well now and has started eating properly. "She is taking food now. She only cries when she is hungry or wants to sleep," he said, adding that she can now be placed in the cradle without any difficulty.

The Gandhinagar police said further investigation is underway.