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6 newborn babies dead in fire at Delhi hospital
Six newborn babies killed, five wounded in a fire at a Delhi hospital due to safety violations. Owner arrested. Condolences and probes ordered. PM announces compensation.
Six newborn babies, some just hours old, were killed and five wounded when a fire ripped through a paediatric hospital in Vivek Vihar late on Saturday, a tragedy that triggered condemnation and anger across the national capital, as authorities pointed to a litany of lapses and violations of basic safety protocol and arrested the owner of the neonatal facility.
The blaze in Baby Care New Born Hospital was likely set off by a short-circuit that in turn set off blasts in oxygen cylinders, said police.
Devastated parents and families packed a nearby mortuary to identify the charred bodies of the babies, the youngest of whom was less than a day old and the oldest 17 days old.
“We didn’t even name her… I never even held her in my arms,” said Anjar Khan, whose 11-day-old daughter died in the inferno.
The hospital’s license had expired nearly two months ago, it did not have a no-objection certificate from the fire department, the facility was packed beyond its authorised capacity, its doctors were not qualified for neonatal care and the building had neither emergency exits nor fire extinguishers, said Delhi Police, who also arrested the doctor on duty when the fire broke out.
President Droupadi Murmu led the condolences, which also came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Meanwhile, as the number and scale of violations underlined a series of administrative lapses, Kejriwal and lieutenant governor VK Saxena separately ordered probes into the incident.
Shahdara deputy commissioner of police Surender Chaudhary said the owner of the hospital, Naveen Khichi, tried to evade investigators, but was arrested from outer Delhi on Sunday.
“We have booked Khichi for causing death by negligence and endangering the lives of others,” he said. Khichi was also booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder as well as for attempted culpable homicide, under sections 304 and 308 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) respectively.
“We also arrested his associate Akash Singh, a BAMS (Bachelor of ayurvedic medicine and surgery) doctor. He was on duty at the time of the incident but fled,” added Chaudhary.
The narrow two-storey building is squeezed between a row of homes lined cheek-to-jowl on Vivek Vihar Road, with no breathing room on either of its sides.
It was occupied by 12 babies, a couple of nurses and other staff when an oxygen cylinder on the ground floor exploded at around 11.30pm on Saturday, setting off a cascade of blasts and fires that eventually engulfed the hospital.
The blasts rocked the entire neighbourhood, said residents, jolting dozens out of their homes. Some residents said a bunch of oxygen cylinders exploded outside the hospital’s facade onto the main road. The flames, meanwhile, ensnared the surrounding buildings.
Police said the hospital was only permitted, under the norms of the Delhi health department, to store 20 oxygen cylinders, but probe officers found that it had stored 32, apart from a string of other blatant violations.
“The hospital was allowed to house only five beds, but the doctor had placed 13. In our initial inquiry, we found that the fire started due to a short circuit that in turn set off a blast,” said Chaudhary
Bystanders also claimed the hospital staff left within minutes of the fire.
“Only a nurse who left came back to help. The men fled. In fact, if the nurse hadn’t come, we would have never known how many babies were trapped inside,” said SK Jain, who lives in adjacent building.
Local residents battled spreading flames and noxious fumes to pull babies out of the hospital as Delhi Fire Services (DFS) made their way to the spot.
DFS chief Atul Garg said they were informed about the fire at 11.40pm.
“Initially, nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was massive and the entire building was gutted. We were trying to control the fire, but there was no way to enter the building and rescue 12 babies who were trapped. We then used the service lane behind the building and smashed through the windows,” he said.
“Locals helped us pull out all the babies,” Garg added.
The babies were taken to Gupta Nursing Home in Shahdara and then referred to East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital, around 1km away, where seven babies were declared dead on arrival.
Police said one of the babies had died before the fire broke out. Officers said the baby’s family was informed about the death around 9.30pm on Saturday, hours before the blaze.
The five are being treated in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Police and fire officials said the rescue was complicated by the fire’s rapid pace as it raced from the ground floor to the top in minutes. All the babies were on the first floor.
Soon, it became clear that the hospital administration had violated a host of rules and that the facility failed to meet most standards set for such premises.
For instance, the Delhi fire department has no record of the building at all.
“They have never come to us for a no-objection certificate. They didn’t have one. The building was violating several norms by keeping all the children in one small room and by storing all the cylinders on the ground floor. We have started an investigation and will prepare a report,” he said.
Senior Delhi Police officers said Khichi was a repeat offender. In 2021, he was granted bail in a case of criminal intimidation, voluntarily causing hurt and cruelty to a child after a newborn baby’s parents alleged he and his staff assaulted their baby, they said.
Khichi also allegedly threatened the baby’s father, who complained that his boy’s arm was severely injured due to the assault, said the officer, who added that the charge sheet, though, was only filed against a nurse. Khichi was granted bail.
Delhi’s joint commissioner of police (eastern range) SS Kalsi said the hospital was not registered under the Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act.
“The hospital’s health department license expired on March 31 this year,” he said.
Haunted families, meanwhile, cried out for answers and said they wanted justice.
Jyoti Rani (35), from nearby Jwala Nagar, gave birth to a boy on Saturday morning. She and her husband Vinod Sharma (36) lost him in the fire hours later.
“They have lost three kids so far. One died after being conceived, another died of complications about two years ago. This is unbearable,” said Vinod’s relative Amit Sharma (37). Vinod stood beside, inconsolable.
The child, who had not been named, had been referred to the hospital soon after he was born because of a breathing problem.
Families said the hospital charged patients between ₹10,000 and ₹15,000 a day.
Condolences poured in from across the country.
President Murmu, in a post on X, said, “The news of the death of many children due to a fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar, Delhi is heart-rending. May God give strength to the bereaved parents and relatives to bear this shock. I pray for the speedy recovery of other children injured in this incident.”
Prime Minister Modi announced compensation for the victims’ kin.
“The fire tragedy at a hospital in Delhi is heart-rending. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this incredibly difficult time. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest.” The PM office announced that an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. “ ₹50,000 would be given to each of those injured,” he said on X.
Chief minister Kejriwal said a probe will identify the people at fault and none responsible will be spared.
“This incident of fire in a children’s hospital is heartbreaking. We all stand with those who lost their innocent children in this accident. Government and administration officials are busy providing treatment to the injured at the spot. The causes of the incident are being investigated and whoever is responsible for this negligence will not be spared,” he said on X.
A doctor at the East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital said the five babies in the ICU are stable.
“Just unplugging babies from the machines they were hooked up to could be fatal. It was traumatising,” he said, asking not to be named.
