Following a fire at the Bhandara District General Hospital on Saturday that killed 10 infants, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took Suo Motu cognizance of the event and sent a notice to the Maharashtra Government over the incident. Notices were also sent to the Chief Secretary and the Director-General of Police (DGP), seeking a report on the incident within four weeks.
Also read - CM Thackeray Orders Fire Audit Of Government Hospitals Post Fire Tragedy At Bhandara
“The DGP is also expected to inform the Commission about the outcome of the investigation being conducted by the police authorities. The report must contain the fire audit reports of various hospitals in the state as well as what measures have been taken or contemplated to be taken by the state against the erring or negligent officers/officials so that they cannot go with impunity,” the NHRC said.
The NHRC maintained that the newborn babies were in the custody of a State-run hospital when they died while adding that the “state cannot escape its responsibility“.
“This is a serious issue of violation of human rights for which the accountability of the negligent officers/officials is required to be fixed, with retrospective effect. The monetary relief alone is not sufficient to compensate. Further, it is imperative to ensure that the support systems in various hospitals in the state must provide adequate care and attention to the patients for protection of their human rights,” the NHRC went on to say.
Read - CM Thackeray Orders Fire Audit Of Government Hospitals Post Fire Tragedy At Bhandara
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited the hospital a day after the fire and offered condolences to the families of the victims. He further announced the setting up of a 6-member committee chaired by the Nagpur Divisional Commissioner who will be tasked with conducting a detailed probe into the tragedy and submitting a report on the same within a month. This committee will also include the former chief of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, PS Rahangdale along with other fire safety experts.
“It was heart-wrenching. The inquiry committee will probe whether there were any demands for fire safety equipment and were these fulfilled or not. The committee will examine whether there was negligence by the health machinery because of the Covid-19 crisis,” the CM said. He mentioned that the guilty will be prosecuted.
Also read - Mumbai: List Of Major Fire Incidents Reported In 2020
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