Five babies have died at a state-run government hospital triggering protests by locals and relatives, which prompted the West Bengal government to order an inquiry into it.
Police rushed to the B C Roy Hospital for Children and dispersed around 300 angry demonstrators who gathered in front of the gates of the hospital and blocked traffic for about an hour, hospital officials said.
Police said three children died last night and two today at the hospital, the largest referral hospital for children in the eastern region.
The cause of deaths could not be ascertained as yet.
Asked to comment on the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said as per information available with her, these children were admitted to hospital 'at the last stage' and that they did not die of enteric disease.
"I have ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked the authorities to give me a report," she said.