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Attibele fire: FIR against St John’s Hospital for seeking money from victim’s family
The family members of Venkatesh on Thursday refused to accept the body, demanding action against the hospital, for allegedly seeking money for treatment.
Bengaluru
A first information report (FIR) has been lodged against St John’s Hospital and a doctor in Bengaluru for allegedly receiving money from the family of a victim of the Attibele fire accident for treatment, officials said on Friday.
According to police officials, the deceased Venkatesh’s (23) kin alleged that despite the state government’s assurance to bear the medical expenses of the injured in the fire accident, the hospital sought money from them. The state government has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
Venkatesh, a resident of Garvebhavipalya, who was a photographer and an amateur body builder, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. He had come to the shop to purchase crackers for his friend’s birthday celebration when the incident took place, officials said.
He had suffered severe burn injuries and was being treated at St John’s Hospital, while his friend had managed to escape the fire.
The family members of Venkatesh on Thursday refused to accept the body, demanding action against the hospital and Dr Sagar, for allegedly not treating him properly and seeking money for treatment.
“I paid ₹40,000 on the first day of admitting my son to the hospital. They asked for ₹30,000 on the second day and ₹40,000 after that. Although I’m poor, to save my only son, I have managed to pay the hospital, after going into debt,” Ramanappa, the father of the deceased, said.
They withdrew their demand after Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner Dayanand KA arrived at the hospital, and pacified the family members, police officials in the know of the developments said.
Based on allegations of Venkatesh’s family members, an FIR was registered at Koramangala Police Station against St John’s Hospital and Dr Sagar under Section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and further investigation is underway, a police officer said.
The fire took place at the firecracker shop-cum-godown on Saturday when crackers were being unloaded from a vehicle into the godown, police officers said, adding that the firecrackers had been transported from Sivakasi, fireworks hub of Tamil Nadu, ahead of Deepavali.
The police have arrested three people in connection with the fire including V Ramaswamy Reddy, the licensee, Anil Reddy, the owner of the land where the godown was built at Attibele, and Ramaswamy Reddy’s son, Naveen Reddy, who has been hospitalised after suffering severe burns, is the third accused.
The fire took place at the firecracker shop-cum-godown on October 7 when crackers were being unloaded from a vehicle into the godown, police officers said, adding that the firecrackers had been transported from Sivakasi, fireworks hub of Tamil Nadu, ahead of Deepavali.
The police have arrested three people in connection with the fire including V Ramaswamy Reddy, the licensee, Anil Reddy, the owner of the land where the godown was built at Attibele, and Ramaswamy Reddy’s son, Naveen Reddy, who has been hospitalised after suffering severe burns, is the third accused.
The case has also been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is awaiting a report from the fire department, based on which more sections are likely to be added to the case, officials privy to the developments, said.
