Short circuit in AC unit may have been the cause; probe ordered
At least 14 Covid patients died in a major fire at a Covid centre in Virar, Maharashtra’s Palghar district, in the wee hours of Friday. The fire broke out at around 3 am in the ICU on the second floor of the four-storeyed Vijay Vallabh Hospital which had 17 Covid patients. According to the sources, the cause of fire seems to be a short circuit in an air conditioning unit of the hospital. The surviving patients under critical care have been moved to nearby hospitals in Mumbai.
Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil ordered a thorough probe by the Maharashtra Director General of police (DGP). The Maharashtra government also announced Rs 5 lakh compensation each to the legal heir of the deceased. The government will also provide Rs 1 lakh to those who have serious injuries.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed grief over the incident and directed the administration to make arrangements for the treatment of those people who were admitted to the Vijay Vallabh Hospital.
“The cause of the fire should be investigated properly. The administration has been instructed to see whether the appropriate fire safety measures were taken in the hospital,” Mr Thackeray said.
Surendra Singh Raj of Satyamev Jayate, an NGO based in Vasai and Virar, alleged that most of hospitals including this hospital in Vasai and Virar did not have fire safety equipment, fire alarm smoke detectors.
Relatives of the victims reached the hospital soon after they got to know of the incident and demanded that stringent action be taken against those responsible for the tragedy.
TV visuals showed the smoke-filled ICU in a disarray after the blaze, with the ceiling falling off in some places, beds and other furniture strewn around and kin of the deceased wailing outside the hospital.
In his tweet in Marathi, the state home minister said, “A fire broke out in the intensive care unit of Vijay Vallabh Hospital in Virar, killing 13 patients. The incident is very unfortunate and painful. A heartfelt tribute to the victims of the accident! The Director General of Police has been directed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident.”
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis also demanded an in-depth inquiry and
◗ THE TRAGEDY comes two days after 22 Covid patients who were either on ventilator or oxygen support, suffocated to death when their oxygen supply stopped suddenly due to a malfunction in the main storage at a civic hospital in Nashik
The CBI on Friday issued summon to Trinamul Congress leader Vinay Mishra for questioning in connection with its ongoing probe into the multicrore cattle and coal scams.
According to sources, Mr Mishra will have to appear before the agency on May 3. He was recently granted bail in connection with the cattle smuggling case till May 3 on the condition that he appears before the CBI on the same date.
Mr Mishra is reportedly close to Mamta Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banarjee. Both scams — coal and cattle smuggling — are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI. The CBI has already recorded statements of Abhishek Banarjee’s wife and others as part of its investigation into the scams.
The ED recently arrested Mr Mishra’s brother Bikas in connection with the coal smuggling case. Bikas Mishra was arrested from Delhi after a brief interrogation. A designated court in Delhi later sent him to the ED custody. The CBI had earlier carried out raids at multiple locations in West Bengal, including Mishra’s premises.
A lookout notice was also issued against the Trinamul Congress leader and all the airports, ports and borders had been alerted regarding the same.