A new mother who had been administered "substandard" Ringer's lactate at the state-run Midnapore Medical College and Hospital last week lost her eight-day-old son on Thursday.

Rekha Sau, whose newborn baby died at the facility, had returned home on Wednesday, her husband Santosh Sau said.

The Midnapore hospital authorities denied the suggestion that the RL solution was responsible for the death of the newborn.

“The woman (Rekha) was critically ill and we had informed the family that the condition of the baby and the mother were not well,” said Tarapada Ghosh, the head of the paediatrics department at the Midnapore hospital.

“The baby had been sick from the beginning. He had kidney problems and jaundice and he was on ventilation. We tried our best but couldn't save the baby,” Ghosh added.

Rekha, a resident of Belda in West Midnapore, was one of eight new mothers who fell ill after receiving the RL at the Midnapore medical college.

The alleged use of the "substandard solution" manufactured by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals at government hospitals triggered controversy after the death of Mamoni Ruidas in Midnapore. Three of the critically ill patients had to be shifted to the SSKM hospital in Calcutta.

But chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday referred to an expert committee report and blamed Mamoni's death on the negligence of the doctors.

The RL solution produced by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals was banned in Karnataka last year following six maternal deaths in the southern state. On December 10, the Bengal government barred the pharma company from manufacturing the solution at its plant in Chopra.