The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday removed the dean of the Gandhi Medical College, Dr Jiten Shukla, superintendent of Hamidia Hospital, Dr Lokendra Dave and director of gas relief hospitals Dr K.K. Dubey from their posts, following the deaths of four infants in a fire at the Kamla Nehru Hospital in Bhopal on Monday night.
Awdhesh Bhadauria, sub-engineer of the electrical wing of the Capital Project Authority, which is responsible for the maintenance of Kamla Nehru Hospital, too, was suspended, Medical Education Minister and government spokesman Vishvas Kailash Sarang said.
Kamla Nehru Hospital is a Bhopal gas tragedy relief hospital on the campus of Gandhi Medical College (GMC), Bhopal. The Hamidia Hospital is the apex government hospital of MP affiliated to the GMC and the paediatric department of this hospital functioned on the third floor of the Kamla Nehru Hospital building, where the fire was reported.
The action on the senior officials came after a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan earlier in the day, where he sought details of the probe into the incident. Additional Chief Secretary Mohammad Suleman is conducting the probe.
Congress alleges death of 14 infants
A section of media and the opposition Congress have claimed that 14 infants died. The MP Congress on Wednesday held a press conference where chief of media cell of the party Jitu Patwari alleged that 14 infants had died in 48 hours following the fire. He said that the hospital administration provided them with the details, but the government is accepting only 4 deaths.
Kamal Nath said the state government is trying to whitewash the incident by initiating action on lower officials, whereas the chief minister should have removed the department minister, registered a case of murder on senior officials responsible for it, removed them from the posts, announced a probe by an HC judge, accepted his government's mistake and sought apology from people of the state and particularly from the families of the deceased infants. Nath said that the government was trying to suppress death figures by attributing the deaths to other causes. He also attacked the CM for not visiting the hospital or the affected families, adding sarcastically that this was probably because there was no election scheduled in the state.
ANI, however, quoted Dr Jyotsana Srivastava, head of the paediatrics department of GMC, as saying that while four infants, already in critical condition, died by midnight on Monday following the fire and their deaths could be attributed to the accident, 36 others were shifted safely to other floors of the Kamla Nehru Hospital. She said that eight more infants died in 36 hours following the fire, but these deaths were due to other medical causes like complications of birth, asphyxia, low birth weight, premature birth and others. Only critical babies are admitted to the special newborn care unit (SNCU) where the fire occurred.
The Congress press conference was addressed jointly by Patwari, former ministers P.C. Sharma and Vijaylaxmi Sadho and Bhopal central MLA Arif Masood.
Patwari attacked Chouhan for showing "extreme insensitivity" by not visiting the scene of the accident though the hospital was close to the CM's House. He also said that the CM and the medical education minister should resign from their posts, taking moral responsibility of the incident.
Sharma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is tipped to visit Bhopal on November 15, should clarify on the hospital fire accident during his visit, as the state government has failed to do so. He said that if the PM, too, does not do it, the Congress would take out a march to meet the PM and apprise him of the details.
Masood said that minister Sarang did not heed to his suggestion—made during his (Masood's) visit to the accident spot on Monday night—to immediately shift the infants to private hospitals. He alleged that the death figures were being suppressed under pressure from Sarang.