Vivek Vihar hospital fire: police file chargesheet; 81 witnesses questioned
The Hindu
Chargesheet filed after hospital fire tragedy in Delhi, revealing negligence and violations leading to newborn deaths.
Two months after seven newborn babies were charred to death in a fire incident at a hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area, the police filed a 796-page chargesheet with statements of 81 witnesses in a court here on Monday.
The incident took place at Baby Care New Born Hospital on May 25.
The police had arrested hospital owner Naveen Khichi and a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) doctor, Akash, under IPC Sections 34 (common intention), 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide).
The chargesheet, filed at a Karkardooma court, stated that flaws in the medical facility’s structural design prevented emergency response and that the on-duty doctor did not alert the police or the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) in time.
It stated that medical oxygen cylinders were kept in a “hazardous manner” and that too beyond the permissible limit. These exploded as soon as the fire started.
A police source said the hospital did not meet eight statutory requirements needed to run a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“There is no document available to show the safety measures implemented by the hospital,” stated the chargesheet.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sought a report from the State government on a complaint that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had taken up works amounting to ₹387 crore in violation of rules in Varuna and Srirangapatna Assembly constituencies, allegedly on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s oral instructions.
“We are organising a health research convention, which comprises a couple of workshops, community-based learning, and also cardiac care. We also included a one-day seminar on medical education, how medical education has evolved in India and the U.K., and what we can learn from each other” said Dr. Piruthivi Sukumar Dean of the International Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Leeds during his interaction with The Hindu.