Jadeja said, “The report has informed that the incident happened due to fire in a medical instrument. It is an accidental fire that spread within three minutes in the ICU.”Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday ordered to institute an inquiry through a commission headed by a retired high court judge into the August 6 fire incident at Shrey Hospital that left eight Covid-19 patients dead.
Minister of state for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja also asked the police to register an FIR and expedite investigations. The police had not lodged an FIR and said it was waiting for various reports. So far only a case of accidental death has been lodged.
The decision has been taken after two senior IAS officers – additional chief secretary (Home) Sangeeta Singh and additional chief secretary (Urban Development) Mukesh Puri – submitted their report on the fire incident to the CM Monday evening. The two were ordered to carry out the inquiry and submit the report within four days.
Jadeja said, “Senior IAS officers Sangeeta Singh and Mukesh Puri have submitted their report to the state government. The report has informed that the incident happened due to fire in a medical instrument. It is an accidental fire that spread within three minutes in the ICU.”
Jadeja also said that the state government has also given orders to police authorities to register an FIR into the incident.
PIL on fire safety filed in HC
Ahmedabad: Seeking to fix accountability in light of a fire in the intensive critical care (ICU) unit of Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad that killed eight Covid-19 patients, an advocate has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Gujarat High Court (HC) as party-in-person, while also seeking appropriate compensation for the deceased patients’ families.
Advocate Amit Panchal, who practices in the HC, highlighted in his PIL that the state has been “very selective” in complying with the court’s directions in earlier matters concerning fire safety as well as with the implementation of the Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2013. As per the petitioner, while the fire prevention act extends to the whole of Gujarat, by virtue of a notification by the Urban DEvelopment Authority has led to the Act’s application, “excludes all areas within the jurisdictional limits of municipal corporations” in the state.
As per the PIL, with virtually no provisions to deal with defaulters and those who do not comply with the requirements of installation of Fire Prevention and Protection Systems in Ahmedabad city, and within the jurisdictional limits of other municipal corporations in the state, the PIL sought the court’s directions to the respondents to implement the National Building Code, which is otherwise applicable throughout India for building safety standards.