Mandya, Sep 7 (IANS): A chilling incident of stray dogs feeding on an abandoned newborn girl child at the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) in Karnataka's Mandya district has surfaced and police are probing the matter.

Police sources said on Wednesday that they suspect the baby was abandoned by her parents due to the social stigma surrounding the girl child. They are analysing CCTV footage to gather evidence.

According to the police, the doctors have stated that the child was born a day before and looked handicapped, which could also be the reason for her parents abandoning her. People informed the authorities after seeing a pack of dogs eating the baby near Ward No 7 of MIMS on Tuesday.

As the baby was moving, people could see that she was alive, and were outraged to see the baby's wounds and bite marks from dogs at the time of rescue.

The MIMS staff rushed to the spot and rescued the newborn baby. However, the baby succumbed to injuries, police said.

A complaint in this regard was lodged with West police station in Mandya city. Police suspect that the newborn baby was dragged into the premises by dogs.

MIMS Director Dr Mahesh Kumar also visited the spot.

Authorities later checked whether the abandoned baby was born at the MIMS and confirmed that it was not born there. Between September 1 and 5, four babies - three male and one female - died at the MIMS. The parents of the female baby confirmed that they have conducted final rites for their baby, sources said.