New Delhi:

A fresh chapter was written Wednesday in the persistent and bitter row between Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena and the ruling AAP, after the former suspended and urged disciplinary proceedings against a senior member of Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj’s office. Dr RN Das, an Officer on Special Duty, has been called out over alleged “misconduct with regard to (an) unauthorised and illegal” nursing home.

Mr Saxena has claimed Dr Das – when he was Medical Superintendent of the Delhi government’s Nursing Home Cell – kept the Jyoti Clinic and Nursing Home running by delaying renewal of its licence post-2014.

The LG – who has had multiple fiery run-ins with the ruling AAP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – cited a civil complaint against the nursing home – that it has been running despite a license called in 2018.

Mr Saxena has alleged the nursing home’s management had applied for a new licence – these are issued in three-year blocks only – but this had been kept pending by Dr Das. “Unauthorised running of the nursing home is attributed to the collusion of above official… with management of nursing home…”

“In this matter an inquiry was conducted… which concluded Dr RN Das, then Medical Superintendent (of the Nursing Home Cell)… was solely responsible for renewal of registration. It has been alleged Dr Das… provided unlawful shelter by keeping the license pending unnecessarily,” he said.

An earlier initial anti-corruption inquiry had said there is enough evidence to warrant a full inquiry.

Dr Das was posted to the Nursing Home Cell from  2011 to  2015, and from 2018 to 2022. “Given the long tenure of Dr RN Das… the officer is clearly responsible for the alleged misconduct,” Dr Saxena claimed.

Action against Dr Das (and, by implication, the Delhi Health Ministry) comes as the LG and the AAP trade blows over a horrific fire Saturday at a private children’s hospital.

READ | Delhi LG Takes Swipe At Kejriwal, Orders Corruption Probe Into Hospital Fire

Seven infants were killed in that fire, triggering a massive row as rivals BJP try to score political brownie points with voters ahead of the final phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

READ | Oxygen Cylinders Began To Explode: When Fire At Delhi Hospital Killed 7

The Delhi LG seemed to link the hospital fire and the alleged licensing failure, declaring “here also Dr Das had allowed registration of the children’s hospital without bothering to ascertain pending litigation and statutory compliance status, including fire safety”.

“… incidents point to the fact Dr RN Das has clearly abused his powers,” Dr Saxena declared.

On Tuesday the LG launched a front attack and declared himself “disappointed” Mr Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Mr Bhardwaj had “paid only lip service and given sound bites (to the press)… and shirked responsibility” since the gut-wrenching incident took place.

He said he had been compelled, “in public interest”, to order an anti-corruption probe into possible lapses in registration and regulatory management of Delhi’s private nursing homes.

The AAP has not yet responded, but Mr Bhardwaj has ordered a mandatory audit of safety equipment in city hospitals and the Delhi government has initiated a magistrate-level probe.

READ | After Delhi Hospital Tragedy, Minister’s Big Order On Fire Safety

In recent weeks Mr Saxena has also stepped into the Swati Maliwal row; he came out in support of Ms Maliwal, who has accused Mr Kejriwal’s aide of assault, and claimed himself “deeply distressed”.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

The Delhi children’s hospital, where seven babies died in a massive fire on Saturday night, was embroiled in a massive controversy a few years ago over the assault of a newborn.

The staff of Baby Care New Born Hospital in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar was accused of assaulting a baby during treatment in 2021.

The case was registered after a security camera footage – which had gone viral – showed a nurse beating the baby due to which the boy’s hand was fractured. The First Information Report or FIR had also alleged that the hospital was unregistered.

Yesterday’s tragedy has revealed several lapses at the hospital yet again. 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.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary said that the hospital had more than the authorised number of oxygen cylinders.

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.

Dr Naveen Khichi, the owner of the hospital who had been on the run since Saturday night after the fire broke out, was arrested yesterday.

Dr Naveen, who runs many other hospitals for babies in the national capital, is being questioned.

Another doctor who was on duty when the fire broke out has also been arrested.

A fire tore through Baby Care New Born Hospital on Saturday night in which seven newborns were killed. The fire, which erupted around 11.32 pm, quickly intensified due to the presence of numerous oxygen cylinders that began to explode, spreading the blaze further and causing extensive damage.

People who saw the huge fire engulf the children’s hospital had scaled the compound wall, and climbed from the rear side of the building to rescue newborns, eyewitnesses told news agency PTI.

They said local residents and members of a non-profit, Shaheed Seva Dal, were the first to rush to help. They were soon joined by fire department officials and the police.

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.