Gorakhpur tragedy: Inquiry report blames doctors, officials, FIR to be lodged

The high-level committee, which had been formed to probe the death of 30 children at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur a few days back allegedly owing to shortage of oxygen, has blamed the doctors, medical college authorities, senior government officials and the gas supplying company for the tragedy.
 
FIRs are likely to be lodged against as many as six people, including a senior bureaucrat, the suspended principal of the medical college Dr RK Mishra and the Oxygen supply company on the basis of the report.
 
The committee, which was headed by the state chief secretary Rajiv Kumar, submitted its report to chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday, according to sources here.
 
Sources said that the chief minister directed registration of cases against the officials, who were found guilty by the committee. These officials might be booked under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC.
 
The committee, in its report, has pointed out serious irregularities and laxity on the part of the college authorities and doctors and recommended stern action against them, sources added.
 
While the content of the report was not made public, it is admitted that the oxygen supply had been disrupted on August 10 and 11 in the hospital.
 
An official probe into the death of 30 children owing to alleged shortage of oxygen at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur has found that laxity on the part of the doctors and hospital authorities was behind the tragedy.
 
Earlier also a probe, which was conducted by the district magistrate of Gorakhpur, had said that the lives of the children could have been saved if the doctors been more careful and there was a better coordination among them.
 
The DM report had also found fault with the suspended principal of the medical college. It had also admitted that the stock of liquid oxygen had been alarmingly low for the past couple of days before the tragedy.
 
30 children, mostly new born, had died allegedly owing to shortage of oxygen at the hospital in a period of 36-hours on August 10 and 11.