New Delhi:

Expired licence, doctor on duty not qualified to treat newborns, no emergency exits – these are among several lapses that have surfaced after a massive blaze at a children’s hospital in the national capital that killed seven newborn babies. The police evacuated twelve infants from the building after receiving a call about the massive fire at Baby Care New Born Hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar at 11.29 pm on Saturday. Of these, five survived the accident and were shifted to another hospital.

After the fire – which had quickly spread to two adjacent buildings – was doused, the hospital was thoroughly inspected by police, fire brigade staff and a crime team. The teams found out that after the fire broke out, oxygen cylinders kept in the two-storey building exploded, due to which the adjacent buildings were damaged. What also came to light were several shortcomings on the part of the hospital authorities.

No Fire Extinguishers Or Emergency Exit

During the inspection of the hospital and examination of nursing staff, it was revealed that the facility didn’t have any fire extinguishers or an emergency exit, police said. The doctor who was on duty when the accident happened was not qualified to treat newborns in need of neo-natal incentive care, they added. Dr Akash – a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) graduate – has been arrested.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary said that the hospital had more than the authorised number of oxygen cylinders. “Initially, we had filed a case for negligence. After the inspection, we have also invoked sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of IPC,” he said.

Expired Licence

The licence issued to the hospital by the Directorate General of Health Services or DGHS had already expired on March 31, nearly two months before the accident. Moreover, the police said even though the licence allowed for five beds at the facility, twelve newborns were in the hospital when the fire broke out.

Police probe into the accident disclosed that the hospital has three other branches in Punjabi Bagh (Delhi), Faridabad (Haryana) and Gurgaon (Haryana). Dr Naveen Khichi, a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Pediatrics, is the owner of these branches. Dr Khichi and his wife Dr Jagriti, a dentist, run the Vivek Vihar facility, the police said. The owner (45), who had been on the run since Saturday night, has also been arrested.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the families of the victims.

The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire tragedy at the neonatal hospital.