30 children, mostly new born, had died allegedly owing to shortage of oxygen at the hospital in a period of 36-hours between Thursday and Friday. Photo credit: PTI.
Stunned by the death of 30 children allegedly owing to shortage of oxygen at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh government was probing if demand for bribe had delayed payment of the company that supplied liquid oxygen to the hospital leading to the shortage of the life saving gas.
The government has also directed the district authorities to investigate the charges that a majority of the doctors of the medical college indulged in private practice despite a ban on the same.
''There are allegations of corruption against some medical college doctors...we are investigating if a bribe was demanded for clearing dues of the oxygen supplying company,'' said a health department official here.
The oxygen supplying company had written dozens of letters to the medical college officials and also to the medical education minister seeking payment of its dues, which had mounted to around Rs. 70 lakh. The company had threatened that it would be forced to stop the supply of the gas if the bills were not paid.
Sources said that the government had released part payment of the company on August five but the money had not reached the latter even by August 11. ''We are probing as to what caused the delay,'' the official said.
The suspended principal of the medical college Rajiv Mishra claimed that he had received the money on August 8 but it could not be released owing to his preoccupation following chief minister Yogi Adityanath's visit to the medical college on August nine.
A medical college official said on Monday that stern action would be taken against the doctors, who were found to be indulging in private practice. ''We are preparing a list of such doctors...action will be taken against all of them,'' he added.
30 children, mostly new born, had died allegedly owing to shortage of oxygen at the hospital in a period of 36-hours between Thursday and Friday.