No fire safety equipment, no qualified nurses, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) housing more beds than sanctioned strength, and more cylinders than prescribed being stored in a hazardous manner: These are among the details included by the Delhi Police as part of its chargesheet in the Vivek Vihar fire case.
Seven newborns were killed and four other infants rescued after a massive fire broke out at the Baby Care New Born Hospital on the night of May 25.
The 796-page chargesheet with 81 witnesses was filed before a Metropolitan Magistrate at Karkardooma court Monday; its cognizance is yet to be taken.
A senior officer, aware of the contents of the chargesheet, said, “The documents received from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) proves that in 2021, the facility was granted licence to run the NICU of five beds for three years. However, the renewal application was under submission with DGHS.”
The cause of the fire has not been concluded by the Delhi Police in its chargesheet and reports of forensic experts, Delhi Fire Services, Electrical Inspector and an MCD team have been placed on record.
Some of the violations that found mention in the chargesheet include:
– The accused persons were running the NICU for 12 beds in “violation of licence for five beds only,” said the official quoted above.
– No fire safety as there was no document available on the application file to show that measures were installed and devised in the hospital. This is in violation of Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act and Delhi Nursing Home Registration Rules, 2011, said the official.
– The facility did not have enough space, or permission, for 12 beds.
– Only BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) doctors were deployed to take care of NICU infants as against a Registered Medical Practitioner having a valid DMC (Delhi Medical Council) certificate, mentioning a postgraduate degree in ICU and NICU.
– No qualified nurses were deployed at the hospital. According to rules, nurses should have a minimum qualification of GNM (General Nursing and Midwifery) along with an experience certificate of working in a 10-bedded ICU for one year.
– The owner, Dr Naveen Khichi, had a case lodged against him in 2019 for alleged violation in another baby care centre, which was sub judice in court. Despite this, the DGHS had issued a licence to the NICU.
– The building had 31 cylinders at the time of the incident. However, at the time of issuance of licence, the accused had given a declaration that he will only have 20 cylinders (Five of Category B, and 15 of Category D) on the premises. Besides, the cylinders were stored in a hazardous manner, according to the chargesheet.
– The owner has also been charged under section 75 of JJ (Juvenile Justice) Act which pertains to punishment for cruelty to children. Another officer, aware of the contents of the chargesheet, stated, “The nursing staff on duty stated that the owner of the nursing home allowed the other male staff members to cook on the rooftop. Despite the issue being pointed out to Dr Khichi, it was ignored.” The official further said investigation found that the structural design of the nursing home was not safe for emergency. “Accused kept the inflammable material i.e., bundles of old papers, wooden debris (on the premises), which became inflammable in prevalent scorching hot weather. Those materials aggravated the fire,” said the official.
The chargesheet, according to sources, also stated that two eyewitnesses were examined who saw the spread of the fire and also made the PCR call. “Dr Akash (the doctor-on-duty) was seen calling on the phone but he did not make a PCR call…this caused a delay of 30 minutes in reporting the matter to police,” said the officer.
Further, autopsy revealed that the infants died of flame burns, according to the chargesheet.
Following the fire, Dr Khichi along with Dr Akash, who was in-charge of the NICU on the night of the incident, were arrested by the Delhi Police.
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