Doctor beaten after woman gives birth in ambulance

A doctor at a state-run rural hospital in West Bengal was thrashed by irate locals after a woman gave birth in an ambulance while being taken to another hospital where he had referred her.

Police sources said the woman, in her 20s, was referred to the Malda Medical College and Hospital by Joydeep Majumdar, block medical officer at the Manikchak rural hospital, some 340 km from here.

However, the woman gave birth to the baby in the ambulance while on way to the medical college. The newborn died soon after.

The doctor's condition was said to be serious after the beating he received.