BRD tragedy: HC grants bail to former anaesthesia dept head

The state’s counsel said Dr Sateesh Kumar does not deserve bail as he was among those responsible for the institution’s functioning.

The Allahabad high court on Tuesday granted bail to Dr Sateesh Kumar, former anaesthesia department head of the BRD Medical College at Gorakhpur, in a case pertaining to the death of over 30 children due to an alleged disruption in oxygen supply last August.

Over 30 children had died due to an alleged disruption in oxygen supply at the BRD Medical College last August. (PTI File)

Justice Yashwant Varma allowed the bail application of Dr Kumar, one of the nine accused in the incident, after he told the court that he had been languishing in jail for the last seven months. He contends that as he was in charge of the maintenance – not supply – of oxygen to the hospital, he had not played any role in the tragedy.

Dr Kumar has also rejected charges that he had gone on leave before the incident without informing the authorities concerned. The state’s counsel, however, said the petitioner did not deserve bail as he was among those responsible for the institution’s functioning.

The court had denied bail to Dr Purnima Shukla, the wife of another accused, and former principal of BRD Medical College Dr Rajiv Mishra on April 30. However, it had granted bail to Dr Kafeel Khan, former head of the encephalitis ward and an assistant professor at the paediatric department, on April 25. Manish Bhandari, the oxygen supplier to the BRD Medical College and Hospital, was accorded relief on April 9.

An FIR was registered against nine people in connection with the incident on August 23, 2017.