Oxygen supplier also arrested in deaths of 60 children at hospital

NEW DELHI — After the oxygen ran out at an Indian hospital last month and at least 60 children died, who should take the blame?

That question continues to vex authorities here, and over the weekend, police officials in northern India arrested another suspect: the owner of the company that cut off the hospital’s oxygen supplies because of unpaid bills.

The deaths, during a week in August when oxygen supplies were dwindling and then ran out at Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital, a government hospital in Gorakhpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, have stirred outrage in India.

Nine people have been arrested, including the head of the medical college in Gorakhpur, his wife, several doctors, a pharmacist and clerks.

Manish Bhandari, the oxygen supplier, was the final suspect, according to police officials.

Authorities said that Bhandari knew police were looking for him and that he had been hiding in Chennai, a city in southern India, more than 1,600 kilometres away.

The suspects are being held in connection with culpable homicide, cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption.

Officials with the oxygen supply company, Pushpa Sales, have said that the hospital’s oxygen problem was not their fault and that they had repeatedly warned they could not continue making deliveries unless the hospital settled its bill.