Nashik tragedy: FIR registered, probe on

A day after 24 Covid-19 patients died of oxygen deprivation in Nashik, the police on Thursday registered an FIR and appointed an assistant commissioner of police (ACP)-level officer to probe the incident.

The first information report (FIR) was registered at Bhadrakali Police station under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code over allegations of gross negligence following oxygen supply disruption that led to death of 24 people at the civic-run Zakir Hussain hospital, said -olice commissioner Deepak Pandey. “We have lodged an FIR for negligence against unidentified persons,” said Pandey.

The leak was on account of a fault in the tank’s valves that caused the prescribed oxygen pressure to reduce, leading to oxygen deprivation. The hospital, a civic-run entity, was treating 157 Covid patients, of which 131 were on oxygen support and 15 were on ventilators.

The tank was operationalised just 21 days before the incident, an official said. “The oxygen tank, having a storage capacity of 13 KL, was operationalised on March 31,” said the official.