Dhaka, June 2 -- The defendants in the case over the deaths of six newborns at Dhaka's Ad-din Medical College Hospital will "benefit" if post-mortems of the infants are not conducted, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said.

Talking to reporters at the Secretariat on Tuesday, he said, "If a post-mortem is not conducted, it creates obstacles in the case. The guardians should get a post-mortem done.

"If a case is filed without a post-mortem, the suspects 'benefit' in the trial. That is why an autopsy should be conducted."

The newborns died in the hospital's post-delivery ward in the early hours of May 27, the day before Eid-ul-Azha, sending shockwaves across the country.

There were allegations that toxic gas had leaked from the AC, but ...