HC reprimands Delhi police for casual report on plea seeking FIR against Delhi hospital for COVID patients' deaths
Delhi: Pulling up Delhi Police for filing an Action Taken Report (ATR) in a "casual manner", Delhi High Court has granted one last opportunity to file an adequate report in a case against a private hospital where several COVID patients died allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply.
As many as 21 critically ill patients had died at the hospital on the intervening night of April 23-24 as it allegedly awaited the oxygen supply to be replenished, following which six family members of the deceased approached the court.
Also Read: COVID Deaths Due To Lack Of Oxygen: Delhi Govt Panel To Assess Cases For Grant Of Compensation
The petitioners sought that the hospital management should be punished, but police, with mala fide intention, have neither arrested nor set up an inquiry against them, they alleged.
The families have requested the court to take cognizance of the offenses such as murder, criminal intimidation, death by negligence, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and disappearance of evidence, summon and try the accused for these offenses.
In the plea filed through advocates Sahil Ahuja and Siddhant Sethi, the complainants have stated that the hospital management should have stopped admitting the patients or start discharging them if they were low on oxygen supply. Keeping everyone in dark and thereby not providing the proper oxygen support which led to the death is an act of culpable homicide on their part all whilst the accused hospital minted money and raised invoices, it stated.
Calling it rash negligence, the complainants alleged it was crystal clear that the hospital management has murdered their family members, played fraud, conspired, and threatened them.
"On June 25, the Court had directed the SHO to file ATR in the matter. The IO has filed the status report which has been forwarded by SHO. The status report has been filed in a very casual manner. The IO has not displayed what steps he has taken after he was ordered to file a Status Report in the matter."
The next hearing in the case will take place on 3rd August.
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