Sunita, who has been undergoing treatment at the Meerut Medical College, was taken to the hospital when she went into labour on Wednesday night.

But doctors and other staff refused to attend to the 28-year-old and did not even allow her to be taken to the labour room.

''The baby could have died or I could have died but the doctors were not bothered. We did not get blankets, food or milk. There were no facilities. Doctors asked us to go to Delhi or else, they said they would hand us over to the police. They said that we would spread HIV here,'' said Sunita.

As the situation became critical, her husband, Rahees Abbas, was forced to deliver the baby himself as doctors stood aside giving him instructions.

''I told the doctors that my wife is about to deliver the baby. They said they will come along. They came but simply stood in a line and asked me to pull out the baby and cut the umbilical cord. They even asked me to clean up the all the blood and burn the waste.

''Even after the delivery, not a single doctor came and asked about my wife's health. It was only yesterday that we got some medicine and that too from the store outside,'' said Abbas.

A baby boy was born to the couple who have three daughters.

Although the hospital has demanded an explanation from the doctors and staff on duty, it is treating the couple's complaint with some skepticism.

''How can I believe what he said? These days those who have HIV think they will get media sympathy by blaming others. So how can I blindly believe what he said?'' argued Dr Abhilasha Gupta, Head, Gynaecology Department, Medical College, Meerut.

The incident highlights the shocking extent of prejudice against the disease even among doctors.

NDTV/India