Based on the recommendations of the report of a high-power committee probing the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy, the Uttar Pradesh government has ordered that an FIR be lodged against over half a dozen persons, including former BRD Medical College principal Rajeev Mishra, and the company that supllied liquid oxygen to the hospital. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also removed additional chief secretary (Medical Education) Anita Bhatnagar Jain. Rajnish Dubey, principal secretary, revenue, has been handed over the additional charge of medical education.
Earlier this month, a total of 60 infants admitted to the government-run BRD Medical College had died in a span of 48 hours, allegedly because of the disruption in oxygen supply due to pending payments to the supplier, a charge stoutly refuted by the state government. The government had maintained that the children died due to different illnesses, including Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and there was no shortage of oxygen.
Government sources said the government has ordered an FIR against at least half a dozen persons, including suspended college principal, his wife Poornima Mishra, Dr Kafeel Khan, in-charge of the ward where the deaths took place, Dr Satish, head of anaesthesia, and the supplier of the liquid oxygen, Pushpa Sales.
The action was recommended by the committee headed by chief secretary Rajive Kumar. The Chief Minister had formed the committee on August 12 to probe the incident, a day after deaths of scores of children in the hospital were reported. UP Medical Education minister Ashutosh Tandon had said that action would be taken against those found guilty in the probe.
As the first action, the government had suspended the college principal Dr Rajiv Mishra, who subsequently put in his papers accepting moral responsibility for the tragedy.
A three-member team of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has charged the administration with negligence, saying no alert was issued regarding shortage of oxygen. The treating doctors should have been alerted seven days in advance that oxygen supply was not being received, the IMA had said on August 18.
