After 40 days, police finally registered an FIR in heart-wrenching Bhandara district hospital fire tragedy that claimed lives of 10 infants. The two nurses—Shubhangi Sathavane and Smita Ambildhuke who were on duty while the fire broke—have been named in FIR. They are booked under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
“An Offence has been registered in PS Bhandara.CR no is 52/21 u/ s 304 part 2. The complainant in the case is Arun Waykar Sub divisional police officer Sakoli. The FIR has named the two nurses for criminal negligence on their part in the death of the 10 infants in Bhandara District Hospital. The investigation is under progress.” Maharashtra DGP Hemant Nagrale said.
Meanwhile BJP MP Manoj Kotak slammed the MVA government and said, “The Maharashtra government is insensitive and not serious about this incident at all so it took 40 days for them to file FIR and that too action on only two nurses, government is trying to save senior officials.”
On 9 January early morning fire broke out in the Sick Newborn Care Unit’s (SNCU) outborn section of the four-storeyed district hospital in Bhandara claiming Iives of ten babies. These babies died of burns and suffocation and the said nurses on duty were supposed to be present in this intensive care unit where fire broke. Had the nurses been there, they could have safely evacuated the infants before fire engulfed the whole ward.
The fire was caused by a short circuit, which started spreading and new borns of day old to month old infants were crying and writhing in pain for more than 15 minutes and fire engulfed babies who suffocated to death for want of oxygen.