FIR Registered Against Two Nurses in Maharashtra Hospital Fire Case

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Director General of Police, Hemant Nagrale, on Thurs day, informed that an FIR has been registered against two nurses for criminal negligence in connection with the Bhandara hospital fire incident which led to the death of 10 newborn infants on January 9.

The FIR has been registered against nurses Shubhangi Sathavane and Smita Ambildhuke. According to reports, the services of both these nurses were earlier terminated. They were working on a contractual basis.

The FIR has been registered under Section 304 part 2 of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The complaint was filed by Sub-divisional police officer Arun Waykar from Sakoli.

The nurses may face imprisonment up to 10 years and fines if the charges against them are proved in court.

The fire had broken out at around 2 in the night at the 36-bed Special Newborn Care Unit of the four-storey hospital building.

A probe was launched into the fire. The investigation, done by a team led by Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar found that a short-circuit in a baby warmer in the ward caused the fire. The fire quickly engulfed the ward resulting in smoke filling up the entire neonatal ward.

At the time of the fire, 17 infants, belonging to ages one to three months, were admitted to the ward. The fire brigade was able to rescue seven of them, but seven infants died from suffocation due to smoke inhalation. Three infants died from burn injuries.

Earlier, on the basis of a report submitted by the fact-finding panel, Bhandara district surgeon Dr Pramod Khandate, medical officer Dr Archana Meshram, who was on-duty when the fire broke out, were suspended and additional district surgeon Dr Sunila Bade was transferred. The in-charge nurse of the neonatal intensive care unit, Jyoti Bharaskar was also suspended.

Bhandara is situated about 900 kilometres from the state's capital city of Mumbai.

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