Special teams have been formed to track down the managements of Ramesh Hospitals and Hotel Swarna Palace, the main accused in the fire at a Covid Care Centre that killed ten patients and injured 20 others.

The mishap occurred around 4.45 a.m. on August 9, when flames engulfed three floors of a hotel-cum-quaratine centre located on Eluru Road.

Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Bathina Srinivasulu said that six teams have been constituted to arrest the prime accused in the case.

“We are searching for Ramesh Hospitals Managing Director P. Ramesh Babu and the Hotel Swarna Palace’s proprietor. Police arrested three persons and more arrests are likely to be made in the case soon,” Mr. Srinivasulu said.

The hospital or the hotel staff were not available for comment.

The special teams formed to probe the incident constitutes the Krishna District Collector, Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Service Department among others.

Raids conducted

The teams visited Hotel Swarna Palace, Ramesh Hospitals and the COVID care centres run by the hospital management in other hotels in the city. They talked to eye witnesses and collected details regarding the incident.

Inquiry officers examined various documents like the building plan, fire NoC, agreement letter between Ramesh Hospitals and the hotel management, and the permission from the government for turning the hotel into quarantine centre and other documents.

Doctors, part of the special team, inquired about the number of patients admitted at the centre, treatment provided to them, and the number of persons present during the time of the incident.

Documents seized

The teams conducted raids on Ramesh Hospitals’ main branch, located on Road No.5. It verified case sheets of the patients, seized documents and agreement papers and questioned the administrative staff.

The teams are likely to submit their reports to the government today.