In a shocking incident, a newborn was nibbled by rats in the maternity ward of a government hospital in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar, with parents claiming that the baby died due to rodent bites.

Ghulam Hassan, a resident of remote Chhatru village in the district, had taken his wife to the hospital where she delivered a baby boy on Thursday, a police officer said on Sunday.

He said that the baby was shifted to the maternity ward and when Hassan visited the ward on Saturday, he found the baby dead with rat bites visible on his body.

"There was blood all over the body of the baby and the rats were still nibbling at it when Hassan came," he said.

Gurjeet Singh, Director of Health Services in Jammu, said that a probe has been launched into the matter.

Singh, however, said that if anybody in the health department is found guilty, strict action would be taken against him or her.