Jabalpur Hospital Fire: Four Doctors booked under IPC 304 for Culpable Homicide as Hospital's fire NOC found expired

Bhopal: The preliminary probe into the Jabalpur New Life hospital fire incident has revealed that the fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) had expired besides several shortcomings regarding fire safety, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported about the incident of a massive fire reported at New Life Multispeciality Hospital, at least nine to ten people had reported being killed in the incident.

The fire broke out on the ground floor of the hospital around 4.30 p.m. and engulfed the entire three-storey building, several fire tenders had been rushed to the Hospital which eventually managed to bring the blaze under control.

The fire possibly broke out due to a short circuit during the changeover of electricity supply from the generator after a power cut, informed Jabalpur SP Siddharth Bahuguna.

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He said police have registered a case of culpable homicide against four doctors-cum-owners of the hospital and arrested its manager, a day after the devastating blaze killed eight persons, including four patients. 

The doctors are on the run and police have fanned out teams to nab them, a senior police officer said. Prima-facie, several shortcomings were found on the part of the hospital regarding fire safety. The preliminary probe has found that the fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) of the New Life Multi-speciality Hospital had expired, Mishra said.

"The FIR was registered by the Jabalpur police against four owners-cum-doctors of the hospital under sections 304 (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code)," he told reporters in Bhopal even as he termed the incident "very unfortunate". 

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