MUMBAI: Three days after three newborns died and four others suffered burn injuries in a fire at the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident.
The state government has already ordered an inquiry and announced compensation for the victims’ families. The incident was reportedly caused by a blast in a ventilator machine. The commission observed that, if the contents of the report are true, the incident raises serious issues concerning violation of human rights. The committee has been asked to submit its report within eight days. Based on the report, action would be taken against the culprits responsible for it.
“We have already appointed a committee and its report is expected to be submitted in the next 2-3 days.
“According to the media report on which the commission took cognisance, nine newborns were present in the SNCU when the fire broke out. One of the four injured babies is said to be in critical condition,” the commission said. We will apprise the NHRC about the report and the steps taken to avoid any such incident in the future,” Abitkar said.
A seven-member committee constituted to investigate the incident began its probe on Tuesday, visiting the hospital and speaking to doctors, hospital management and nurses who were present when the fire broke out.
