Delhi’s Vivek Vihar fire: ‘Not a day goes by without thinking about our little girl’

Seven babies were killed in a fire at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Baby Care New Born hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar in 2024

In a matter of weeks last summer, Gyanendra Kumar and his wife Seema underwent two heartbreaks – the death of their newborn twins. One died at birth on April 17, and the other was killed as a deadly fire blazed through the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Baby Care New Born hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar on May 25.

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Baby Care New Born hospital a year after the fire on Thursday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

In all, seven babies were killed, the owner Dr Naveen Khichi was arrested, and what emerged was a case of gross negligence and safety violations. A year on, the parents of the victims – struggling to move on – spoke to HT about their loss, anger and grief.

For two years, Gyanendra and Seema, who live in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, prayed for a baby, and in 2023, when they learnt they were going to be parents, their happiness knew no bounds. Little did they know that a cruel fate and prolonged battle for justice lay ahead.

“I attended the court hearing the first two times but since then haven’t been able to attend any. It’s not easy to go to Delhi from Prayagraj frequently.Nothing is happening in this case. I want the doctor to receive the harshest punishment,” said Gyanendra, 43, who works as a record keeper in a government department.

Like Gyanendra, 36-year-old Vinod Sharma, a resident of Shahdara, too has stopped going for the court hearings. His wife Jyoti had delivered a boy at a private hospital in Dilshad Garden on the day of the fateful fire but was referred to the Vivek Vihar facility due to breathing problems.

The baby didn’t survive.The family came to know about it through a relative when the tragedy was reported that night.

Parents to a six-year-old, the couple had suffered a miscarriage four years ago, and lost a child at birth in 2022 due to complications.

“My wife is struggling to move on, so she has started taking tuition classes at home to distract herself. I hold a private job and can’t attend the court hearings because I don’t get those many leaves at work. A whole day is lost if I go to the Delhi high court and at least half a day is gone if I go to the Karkardooma court,” said Sharma.

Police probe had found that the hospital was running without a licence, had 34 oxygen cylinders which is 14 more than they were allowed to keep, and was being run by Ayurvedic practitioners and unqualified nurses among a host of other violations.

A week ago, 28-year-old Noor Jehan woke up in the middle of the night and cried for hours. Her 11-day-old baby girl was one of the victims of the fire. She lives in Bhajanpura in northeast Delhi with her husband, Anzaar Khan, 30, who works at an embroidery workshop.

He told HT, “Not a day goes by when she doesn’t think about our girl. I still have nightmares about the incident. Last week when she cried at night, she told me it was the day our baby was born.” Two days later, the girl caught an infection and was admitted to the Vivek Vihar hospital.

Parents to two boys aged around five, the two were not at home when the fire broke out and only came to know about it through on television news. The child was yet to be given a name but Khan said his father already had a name in mind. The couple never found out. It brings back memories of the fateful night, Khan said.

The treatment didn’t come cheap. The couple took a loan of ₹ 2.5 lakh to pay for NICU, medicines, blood bank and a plethora of tests the baby was put through. “Did we risk her life? Did we kill her by admitting her there? That doctor is out on bail. I attend every hearing. It’s painful... I don’t take Noor with me because I know she’s under a lot of stress,” said Khan.

Minutes away from the hospital which has been sealed, Raj Kumar, 25, and his wife Uma, 24 – both gardeners in Karkardooma – wonder how to accept the truth. On May 25, their six-day-old baby Ruhi was killed in the fire. The couple was at home when neighbours their called them to check the news about the fire.

“It is difficult to attend the court hearings. At one hearing, a firefighter gave his testimony in front of us... I broke down. I couldn’t bear to hear details of that night,” saidRaj.