Sisodia calls for thorough probe into oxygen deaths
NEW DELHI: Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday said a thorough probe was needed into deaths related to oxygen shortage during the last Covid-19 wave in the Capital, and asserted that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will soon share the details in this regard with the Centre.
“We faced a major oxygen crisis during the last wave of Covid-19. As a government, we are taking all steps to ensure that it doesn’t happen again in case of potential future waves. But we appeal to the central government to take the issue seriously. I have come across news reports today which said that the central government has claimed to have sought response on oxygen deaths from 13 states so far of which only one has accepted deaths caused by oxygen shortage. We have also learnt that states were given time till August 13 to respond to the Centre’s queries on the issue. However, we (Delhi government) have received no letter from the central government with any query on oxygen deaths,” said Sisodia in a video press briefing on Tuesday.
At its peak, Delhi recorded around 28,300 cases in a day, and a positivity rate exceeding 36% on April 20 and 22 respectively. Around that time, at least 31 Covid patients allegedly died due to oxygen shortage in two hospitals. Several deaths linked to oxygen shortage were reported from other states, too. However, a political blame game ensued between the Centre and the Opposition when the Union government on July 20 told Parliament that no state identified oxygen shortage as the cause of deaths caused by the second wave of the pandemic.
Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said last month that the data was based on reports from states and UTS. During a discussion in the Rajya Sabha last month, he said that state governments were asked to report all such deaths.
Sisodia said, “We accept that the oxygen crisis happened during the last wave of the pandemic. And, without any probe it is difficult to say if that has caused deaths. I am going deeper into whether it has or has not. I am stressing on the importance of thorough investigation into cases of deaths that can be related to oxygen shortage.”
On May 4, the Delhi government told the Delhi high court that an expert committee could not ascertain whether 21 deaths at Jaipur Golden Hospital in north Delhi’s Rohini happened because of oxygen shortage. The leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later cited this submission to accuse the AAP of hypocrisy on oxygen-related deaths.
The AAP government in Delhi criticised the central government, saying it did not let the city government probe such matters by setting up a larger expert committee. Health minister Satyendar Jain pointed out that the submission in court on deaths in Jaipur Golden hospital was based on “preliminary” findings and the matter needed more investigation.
In a status report before a local court, the Delhi Police on August 3 said that the deaths at Jaipur Golden Hospital were not caused by lack of oxygen. However, families of the people who lost their lives termed it a “whitewash” by the authorities and demanded a fair probe into the deaths.
“The death summaries mention respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. It’s written in a technical language. We are demanding a proper investigation,” said Erick Massey whose mother Delphin Massey was among those who died at the Rohini hospital.
The family members have alleged that the hospital management should be punished, but police, with mala fide intention, have neither arrested nor set up an inquiry against the hospital.
Sisodia on Tuesday said all states should be given enough time to “investigate” such matters. “Without that, how can they draw conclusions. Though we have not been asked yet, we have decided to share such details with the Centre very soon. And I appeal that it should be made public along with details of other states,” he said.