Jhansi: The Uttar Pradesh government has sacked the principal of the Jhansi medical college and suspended three other staffers in connection with the fire tragedy on November 15 that killed 17 infants.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said he issued the orders based on a report compiled by the four-member committee to investigate the fire incident at the Rani Laxmi Bai Medical College.
“On receiving the investigation report, I have thoroughly reviewed it and taken strict action against some officers guilty in the incident. The suffering of the public is our suffering and the government always stands with them,” he said in a post on X.
He said the principal of the medical college has been removed and attached to the Directorate General of Medical Education in Lucknow while the chief superintendent has been immediately suspended and a charge sheet has been issued to her.
“Charge sheet has been given to the Associate Professor, Radio Therapy Department and Chief Medical Superintendent of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi. The nursing sister in charge of NICU ward has been suspended and a chargesheet has been given to her,” he wrote in the post.
The divisional commissioner of Jhansi has been made the investigating officer by giving a chargesheet to the professor and head paediatrics department and associate professor of the surgery department and in-charge officer, Vidyut Maharani Laxmibai Medical College Jhansi. Besides, the junior engineer (Electrical) of the medical college has also been suspended and a chargesheet issued.
Pathak said the suffering of the public is “our suffering and the government always stands with them.”
On the night of November 15, a massive fire broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit, charring to death 10 infants on the spot while seven other children, among 39 rescued, succumbed to injuries in the following days.
The devastating incident at a primary healthcare facility in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region raised serious concerns about the safety protocols in medical institutions. The four-member committee’s report pointed towards individuals, and staffers responsible for the incident and the shortcomings, which formed the base for action.
