Underqualified staff, no safety equipment: Chargesheet filed in vivek Vihar fire case

The chargesheet, which was seen by HT, listed 81 witnesses, including police officers, fire department officials, hospital staff, and residents

Underqualified nurses taking care of the babies, ayurvedic practitioners running the centre and the lack of basic safety measures — these were some of the things listed by the Delhi Police in the 796-page chargesheet submitted to a Delhi court detailing the circumstances that led to a massive fire at a neonatal centre in Vivek Vihar, east Delhi, killing six newborns on May 25.

A report prepared by the anti-corruption branch showed the nursing home was functioning with an expired health license and had no fire exits, equipment or measures. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

The chargesheet, which was seen by HT, listed 81 witnesses, including police officers, fire department officials, staff of the hospital, and residents of the area, among others. Police mentioned two ayurvedic practitioners who were working at the hospital as suspects, but there was no evidence against them on record.

The document added that there were no safety measures installed in the hospital for emergencies. Police also said in the chargesheet that the “structural design of the nursing home was not safe”, adding that the number of oxygen cylinders stored was beyond permissible limits.

While the chargesheet did not mention the source of the fire, the document said that the report of the electrical inspector was collected which said: “... on physical examination of the burnt out electrical installation, no sign of short-circuiting could be noticed in the electrical installation”.

According to the regulations, one resident medical officer (RMO) with a valid Delhi Medical Council Certificate mentioning their PG degree specialising in ICU-NICU is a requirement at neonatal care centres. However, only ayurvedic practioners were deployed at the centre. Similarly, nurses should have a minimum qualification of general nursing and midwifery along with an experience certificate of working in a 10-bed ICU for a year, but “no such qualified nurses have been found deployed,” the chargesheet said.

“Despite the pendency of one case against the present applicant (owner Dr Naveen Khichi) DGHS (Directorate General of Heath Services) issued License,” the document read.

Quoting the police, the document said that the nursing staff on duty said the owner had allowed the other male staff to cook on the rooftop — something they raised with the owner but to no avail.

The chargesheet had detailed statements of the staffers, including nurses. A nurse, identified as Raksha (single name), in her statement to police on May 29, said that she had been working at the hospital since September 2023 as a receptionist.

Giving a breakup of staffers, she said that Khichi and Dr Abhiman (single name) were both paediatricians and three people identified as Akash Singh, Shubham Singh and Sachin Singh were ayurvedic practitioners who were working as RMOs. Two of the housekeeping staff and a driver stayed in the hospital around the clock. “[They] used to operate the oxygen cylinders... the hospital did not have trained technician to operate the cylinders,” she told police.

Nurse Megha Mukherjee, in her statement, said that on the day of the incident, she, along with two other nurses, were on duty along with Dr Singh as in charge. She said that around 11.15pm, she saw a big fire on the front side of the nursery, but after the fire broke out, “Dr Akash was not spotted at all”.

Mukherjee said that while making attempts to escape the fire, one of the housekeeping staff tried to remove the “articles lying in front of the back door but was unable to as it was jammed”.

Police said that Khichi failed to equip the hospital with essential fire safety devices, endangering the lives of the infants and the staffers. In the CCTV footage, Dr Singh was seen talking over the phone after the incident. However, he did not make calls to the police or fire department, which could have saved the lives of infants.

Of the 12 babies admitted to the centre at the time, only four survived — six due to the fire and two due to respiratory problems unrelated to the fire. A report prepared by the anti-corruption branch showed the nursing home was functioning with an expired health license and had no fire exits, equipment or measures. The babies were pulled out by locals and staffers of the hospital, who entered the nursing home from the back window using ladders and grilles.

The hospital owner, Dr Khichi, and Dr Singh were arrested a day later and are still in judicial custody.