A 70-year-old paralysed man on ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a government hospital here was allegedly attacked by rats who nibbled on his ears, nose, lips and cheeks while hospital staff slept, hospital sources said.

The authorities at the government hospital have launched an investigation into the incident. The man, whose identity was withheld, was unable to move due to paralysis when the incident took place early Tuesday at the Mathura Das Mathur Hospital.