Sangita Das, a resident of Belilious Road, Howrah, who went into labour on Sunday, was admitted to Bellevue nursing home on Sunday and a little later after midnight she was taken to the labour room where she delivered a baby boy.

Sangita said, "There was no doctor present during the delivery and on Monday morning the nurses informed me that I have delivered a still-born baby."

The hospital authorities informed Sangita's family more than 10 hours after the still-born baby was delivered and when her husband Manas along with his relatives came to the hospital after making arrangement for burial, he was told that the baby was alive.

"We found the baby's body warm and felt a faint heartbeat. When we informed the nursing home authorities about the incident, they literally snatched the baby from us for medical attention," Manas' cousin Jayanta Majhi said.

"We had come to the nursing home for better treatment but what happened to us is unfortunate and we have lodged a complaint against the nursing home authorities at Shakespeare Sarani police station," Manas said.

However, the CEO of the nursing home, P Tandon, refused to describe the baby's case as medical negligence.