The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has constituted a high-level, three-member committee to investigate the sequential deaths of six newborn infants at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Moghbazar, Dhaka. The fatal incidents occurred during the early hours of Wednesday, 27 May 2026, in the medical facility’s post-delivery recovery unit.
The Director General (DG) of the DGHS, Professor Dr Probhat Chandra Biswas, announced the directive on Wednesday afternoon following an on-site evaluation of the affected ward. The panel is statutorily mandated to submit its comprehensive findings and administrative recommendations within a strict 72-hour timeframe.
Ward Observations and Environmental Factors
Following a physical inspection of the second-floor post-operative room, Professor Dr Probhat Chandra Biswas reported finding highly compromised atmospheric conditions inside the sealed recovery area. The Director General noted that the architectural design left the room entirely dependent on its mechanical climate control systems.
“During our morning inspection of the ward, we discovered a suffocating environment triggered by an air conditioning malfunction or related mechanical failure,” the Director General stated to members of the press. “The ventilation unit was configured in a manner that left the room with absolutely no secondary airflow or alternative ventilation paths once the climate system stopped functioning. It was under these specific structural conditions that the six infants being treated here were lost.”
Patient Demographics and Investigative Framework
The specialized recovery ward housed 11 mothers at the time of the operational breakdown. Six of these mothers were caring for their newborns, all aged between one and three days. The remaining five infants born to the group were undergoing separate treatment inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) due to pre-existing, congenital medical complications.
The specific parameters of the newly formed regulatory probe, along with the patient demographics of the affected ward, are structured in the table below:
| Investigative & Operational Metric | Documented Case Parameters and Specifications | Institutional Oversight |
| Investigating Body | Three-Member High-Level Inquiry Committee | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| Committee Composition | Ministry Joint Secretary, DGHS Hospital Wing Deputy Director, Senior DGHS Officer | Health Minister’s Directive |
| Reporting Deadline | Within 72 Hours from formal formation | DGHS Executive Office |
| Total Ward Occupancy | 11 Mothers and 6 Neonates (Aged 1 to 3 days) | Ad-din Ward Registry |
| Adjacent Clinical Cohort | 5 Infants undergoing concurrent congenital NICU care | Ad-din Neonatal Department |
| Primary Forensic Theory | Acute asphyxiation via AC system leakage or mechanical failure | Dhaka Metropolitan Police |
Institutional Accountability and Legal Proceedings
The high-level investigation was initiated under the direct executive order of the Health Minister. The committee has been specifically tasked with analyzing the hospital’s overall operational protocols, checking for gaps in standard clinical care, and verifying the technical configuration of the recovery ward.
“The committee will examine whether there were structural failures in the hospital’s management or any deficiencies in the medical care provided to the newborns,” Professor Dr Probhat Chandra Biswas explained. “We will investigate all technical and infrastructural aspects, particularly regarding the air conditioning failure. If advanced technological insights are required, specialized engineering experts will be co-opted into the panel.”
The Director General emphasized that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would execute strict administrative penalties based on the final inquiry report. If the panel confirms clinical negligence, professional misconduct, or structural code violations, strict disciplinary action will be enforced across all responsible administrative levels. Concurrently, officers from the Ramna Police Station are pursuing independent criminal inquiries into whether a toxic refrigerant gas line leak caused the fatal incident.