Delhi Neonatal Hospital Fire: Police files 800-page chargesheet against 2 doctors citing negligence

New Delhi: In its ongoing investigation regarding the fire incident at East Delhi’s private neonatal hospital where seven newborns died two months ago, the Delhi police recently filed a charge sheet against two doctors, including the owner of the hospital and a BAMS doctor who was on duty on the day of the incident. 

In an 800-page charge sheet submitted to the Karkardooma court on Wednesday, the police stated that the on-duty BAMS doctor at the hospital when the incident happened didn't alert the police or the fire brigade. As a result, the rescue operation was delayed by at least 30 minutes, according to a TNIE news report. 

The PCR (Police Control Room) calls made between 11.29 pm to 11.32 pm to report the fire were made by two eyewitnesses who saw the spread of the fire and accordingly reported the incident.  

Also read- 7 Newborns Dead, 5 Injured: What Went Wrong In Delhi's Neonatal Hospital That Caught Fire?

According to the eyewitnesses who were examined by the police, the BAMS doctor who was on duty that day did not make any PCR calls but the eyewitnesses saw the doctor speaking on the phone, TNIE reports. 

As per a PTI news report, the Delhi Police in their chargesheet mentioned that the hospital was running without fire safety devices and staff did not act swiftly when the blaze began. Following this, they have invoked sections 304, 308, 34 of the IPC, and 75 of the JJ Act. Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Vidhi Gupta Anand of Karkardooma Court has listed the matter for further hearing on August 2.

Medical Dialogues team had reported that the hospital authorities did not possess a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department. Apart from not having the NOC, the concerned health facility was reportedly operating without a valid license. It was also revealed in the preliminary investigation that the doctors were not qualified/competent to treat the newborn children in need of Neo-Natal Incentive care, as they are BAMS degree holders only.

On May 25, a massive fire broke out at a private children's hospital in East Delhi's Vivek Vihar, leaving seven newborns dead. The officials of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) had said the blaze broke out at the Baby Care New Born Hospital at around 11.30 pm, which soon spread to two other adjacent buildings. Due to the fire, many oxygen cylinders kept in the two-storey building exploded, which damaged the adjacent buildings.

Two men -- the owner of the hospital, Naveen Khichi, and a BAMS doctor, Akash, who were on duty on the day of the incident, were arrested in connection with the case.

The charge sheet was filed at a city court on Monday and cited 81 witnesses' statements and forensic reports.

"During the investigation, we checked a total of eight points about the statutory requirement to run NICU and the norms which the hospital violated. Regarding fire safety, there is no document available to show the safety measures that have been implemented by the hospital. The hospital had the permission to function with five beds but was running with 12 beds," said a senior police officer, referring to the charge sheet.

Documents received from the Directorate of Health Services, Delhi, prove that the nursing home was granted a license to run the NICU for five beds in 2021 for three years. The renewal application was under submission with DGHS.

The officer said only BAMS doctors were deployed to take care of infants admitted to NICU. No qualified nurses were deployed, the officer said, adding that it is a must they must possess minimum qualification of General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) along with DNC registration.

Police observed that at the time of issuance of a license, the accused gave a declaration that they would have five oxygen cylinders of Category B type and 15 cylinders of Category D type.

However, at the time of the incident, there were 31 oxygen cylinders kept in the hospital, which violated the declaration submitted by the hospital to the authorities, the officer said. These cylinders were stored in a hazardous manner and exploded when the blaze started.

"From the investigation conducted so far and relying upon the statements of witnesses recorded under section 161 of the CrPC, sufficient evidence has come on record against the accused Khichi and Akash for the death of the seven infants by their known act of running a hospital for NICU beyond permissible beds, without qualified RMO and nurses, without fire safety devices and not acting swiftly in the event of fire," the charge sheet said.

Police, in their charge sheet, observed that the owner of the hospital is a qualified doctor and a professional person with full knowledge that newborn babies are very vulnerable and even a small incident can be fatal for them.

"Initially, the case was registered under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC, but subsequently, based on the evidence on record, section 304 (culpable homicide), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 34 (common intention) and 75 of the JJ Act were invoked," it read, adds PTI.

The charge sheet, while citing the statement of the nursing staff on duty, said the owner of the nursing home allowed the other male staff to cook on the rooftop. This issue was also brought to the knowledge of the owner but to no avail, the charge sheet said, adding that the structural design of the nursing home was not safe for emergency.

The inspection reports of forensic experts, the Delhi Fire Service, the Electrical Inspector and the MCD team, have also been annexed with the charge sheet.

The accused kept inflammable material, like bundles of old papers and wooden material, and their presence aggravated the fire. The doctor, who carried out the post-mortem, opined that the cause of death of the infants was due to burns. The viscera and femur samples of deceased infants were deposited in FSL in Rohini for analysis and expert opinion, and their reports are still awaited.

Also read- Delhi Neonatal Hospital Fire: Court Rejects Bail Plea Of Accused, Questions Why Ayurvedic Doctor Working In NICU