Jhansi medical college fire: After horror, hunt for answers
Uttar Pradesh govt orders multi-level probe into Jhansi hospital fire tragedy, compensation announced
The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a multi-level probe into the tragic death of 10 newborns in a fire at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi on Friday night
The state government has also announced ₹5 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased babies and ₹50,000 for those who were injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while condoling the deaths, has also announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh for the affected families. President Droupadi Murmu termed the news of the incident “extremely heartbreaking”.
The blaze at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has been doused.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, offering his condolences, directed the authorities to expedite relief efforts and ensure the best possible treatment for the surviving babies.
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said the investigation would be comprehensive, assuring strict action against anyone found responsible for the tragedy.
Interacting with reporters, he said, “We will detect the cause of the incident and whose negligence led to it. The priority is giving quality treatment to the injured.”
“The death of the newborns is deeply unfortunate. Along with the family members, we are working to identify the bodies. DNA tests will be conducted to establish their identities,” he said.
As of Saturday evening, the bodies of three babies remained unidentified. Health officials have confirmed that efforts are underway to locate their families.
The separate inquiries into the incident include a magisterial probe, an investigation by a panel of experts headed by the director general of medical education (DGME) and another probe at the local level by the divisional commissioner and deputy inspector general of police, Jhansi range.
The probe by the committee of experts has director general medical education Kinjal Singh as its chairperson, along with director (health) medical health services, additional director (electrical) health services as members, and a member nominated by director fire services.
“The probe will focus on what caused the fire, identification of the guilty or the laxity that led to incident and recommendations to avoid such incidents in future,” said an office order issued by principal secretary, medical health, Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma.
This committee has been asked to submit its report to the state government in seven days.
The probe committee will take into consideration the infrastructure, fire-fighting facilities and training facilities to the staff on various security aspects. The cause of fire and the action taken by staff on duty will also be considered by the committee.
In addition, the Jhansi district administration has set up a panel of six doctors to look into the cause of the incident.
“If any lapses are found, strict action will be taken against those responsible, and no one will be spared,” Pathak said. “The government stands with the families of the children during this difficult time,” he added.
Medical college principal Dr Narendra Singh Sengar confirmed that 25 babies are currently under treatment, including four in a private hospital.
“None of them have burn injuries. They are receiving treatment for the conditions they were originally admitted for. All of them are doing absolutely fine,” he said. Pathak also announced that the government would bear the cost of treatment for babies being treated in private hospitals.
A statement from the Uttar Pradesh government said that on chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s directions to expedite the rescue work, senior officials took charge of the situation on Friday night itself.
Most of the children were evacuated to safety within 15 to 20 minutes through the rescue operation, it said, adding that most of the infants were shifted to the PICU ward.
Expressing his condolences to the families of the deceased children, Adityanath directed the officials to provide all possible help to the victims.
“Ten newborns died in the accident, while 54 were rescued,” he said.
Another statement from the state government said, “On the CM’s instructions, an assistance of ₹5 lakh each is being provided to the parents of the newborns who died in the incident and ₹50,000 to the family of each of the injured from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.”The chief minister has directed the Divisional Commissioner of Jhansi and the deputy inspector general of police to submit a report on the incident within 12 hours, it added.
At an election rally at Phulpur in Prayagraj, Adityanath said the fire was caused by a short circuit. “To ensure that other children were rescued, we were up all night coordinating (with officials) for relief and rescue efforts,” he said while explaining why he was delayed in arriving at the rally.
“My heart goes out to those who lost their children,” the chief minister said.
Meanwhile, Pathak dismissed media reports that the medical college had expired fire extinguishers. “All firefighting equipment in the medical college was completely fine,” he said in a statement, adding a fire safety audit was carried out at the medical college in February and a mock drill was conducted in June.
The principal of the medical college, Dr Narendra Singh Sengar, also termed the allegations “baseless”.