Suspension of doctor arrested in Ahmednagar hospital fire case revoked
Ahmednagar: The suspension order of the doctor who was arrested along with three nurses of the Ahmednagar civil hospital under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 304A (causing death by negligence) after a major fire in the facility killed 11 people, has been revoked.
Confirmation to this effect has been given by acting civil surgeon Dr BK Ramteke.
In wake of the incident on November 6, the Ahmednagar district civil surgeon and three other health officials were suspended and the services of two staff nurses were also terminated.
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However, it recently came to light that the doctor is a postgraduate medical student doing her internship at the hospital, but the health department had announced her suspension thinking that she was a medical officer.
"The woman doctor was a PG student and resident doctor, but not a permanent employee, so the state government has revoked her suspension," Dr Ramteke told Hindustan Times.
"About other three nurses – one who was permanently suspended continues - while the other two who were working on a contractual basis their service has been terminated," he added.
"Earlier, the administration had thought that she was a government employed medical officer. However, later, when they realised their mistake, they revoked her suspension," Advocate Makasare Yohan, who is representingthe doctor stated.
"My daughter is just a medical student who was stationed at the Covid ward. She has no training in fire-fighting," Rajendra Popat Shinde, father of the doctor told The Indian Express.
The doctor's family has been rallying for her release, saying that she cannot be held responsible for the deaths.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association and other medical students' bodies have been alleging hospital staff are being targetted so as to shift the blame from the state government.
The arrest of the medical staff was also opposed by the state chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) along with IMA and the Medical Students Network. The doctors under IMA Ahmednagar also staged protests against the arrest and started their agitation from November 8. The one-day protest led to the closing down of OPD services and elective surgeries in the hospital.
