Odisha fire tragedy: 4 officials suspended over negligence; Oppn seeks Minister's resignation

Bhubaneswar, March 18 (IANS) Following the tragic fire accident at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on March 16, which officially claimed the lives of 12 patients, as many as four persons -- including three fire department officials and one engineer -- have been suspended on charges of negligence in duty.

Meanwhile, the opposition BJD and Congress on Wednesday intensified protests both inside and outside the Odisha Assembly, demanding the resignation of Health Minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling.

Acting on findings of negligence, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has already ordered the suspension of four officials, identified as Prakash Kumar Jena, Deputy Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle; Sanjeeb Kumar Behera, Assistant Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle; Abhinab Prusty, Station Officer, SCB Medical College and Hospital; and Ranjan Kumar Biswal, Assistant Executive Engineer, SCB Sub-Division under GED, Cuttack.

It may be noted that the Chief Minister had earlier constituted a six-member fact-finding team under the chairmanship of Development Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh to investigate the causes behind the fire incident at SCB Medical College in Cuttack.

The state government had also constituted a single-member judicial commission of inquiry comprising retired district judge Laxmidhar Biswal.

The commission has been instructed to submit its report within 60 days from the date of publication of the notification in the Odisha Gazette.

It has been tasked with examining the sequence of events leading to the fire, the role, conduct and accountability of persons or authorities involved, the preparedness of the hospital and other agencies in dealing with such incidents, and the effectiveness of measures taken before and after the incident to save patients’ lives.

The government has also asked the commission to make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies.

According to reports, a major fire broke out in the ICU of the Trauma Care Centre at SCB Medical College due to a suspected electrical short circuit between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Monday.

As many as 12 patients died in the fire accident.

--IANS

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