Three held in connection with fire at private hospital in Muzaffarpur

Three persons have been arrested in connection with the fire incident at a private hospital in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar on June 4, which had led to the death of six patients in the ICU, a police officer said on Friday. According to Mohibullah Ansari, Superintendent of Police (City), Muzaffarpur, the arrested persons happen to be staff members of the Prasad Hospital in Brahmapura locality, where smoke had filled the fifth-floor ICU, and some of the patients choked to death since evacuation did not begin until the fire brigade arrived. "In pursuance of the FIR that was lodged by the Fire Officer of Muzaffarpur, we arrested Pankaj, the doctor who was the ICU's in charge, in addition to Ram Kumar and Ajit Kumar, the admin manager and the maintenance manager, respectively", said Ansari.

He added, "The aforesaid persons were found to be primarily responsible for the incident. However, upon further investigations, more arrests may follow. We are investigating as to whether the hospital building has been constructed in accordance with rules and whether fire safety norms were being followed". "If the hospital is found to be wanting on the aforementioned counts, we may take action against the owner as well", said the official.

Altogether, six patients admitted to the ICU, including two women, had died in the incident. Four of the deceased were local residents, while the remaining two hailed from adjoining districts of Sitamarhi and Sheohar.

Officials have squarely blamed the staff on duty for the deaths, claiming that no lives were lost to burn injuries and all the fatalities resulted from asphyxiation.

Hospital authorities have, so far, been tight-lipped over the incident, though officials involved in the rescue operation, which saved the lives of more than 20 patients, and several attendants have alleged that once smoke filled the ICU, "the staff on duty ran away".