Malda med college MSVP removed after 89 infant deaths in Aug
Times of India | 6 September 2026
Malda: The health department has removed Prasenjit Bar as medical superintendent-cum-vice principal of Malda Medical College & Hospital after 89 infant and neonatal deaths were recorded at the facility in Aug. Ganesh Chandra Gayen, head of ENT department at the college, will replace Bar.
Paediatrics department head Sushma Sau has also been replaced by Biswanath Basu of NRS Medical College. Hospital principal Parthapratim Mukhopadhyay confirmed the decisions following instructions from Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters.
The action came after a four-member expert committee, sent to investigate the unusually high number of deaths, submitted its findings. The panel also recommended that each death be examined individually.
In Aug, 10 children and neonates died in a single day at the hospital. Over the next three weeks, more than 60 children died while undergoing treatment. The team later confirmed that the total number of infant and neonatal deaths at the hospital stood at 89 in Aug.
Health department sources said the committee found poor coordination among hospital departments and deficiencies in infrastructure and services. A detailed report would be submitted to state govt.
Officials said multiple factors were linked to the deaths, including malnutrition, respiratory distress after birth, cardiac complications, jaundice and low birth weight. Experts are reviewing medical records and reports related to each case.