New Delhi: Delhi Police has added a section of the Juvenile Justice Act to the FIR registered in connection with the death of six newborns in a fire at a children's hospital in Vivek Vihar, officials said on Thursday.
According to police, a fire broke out at Baby Care New Born Child Hospital on Saturday night. Hospital owner Dr. Naveen Khichi and Dr. Akash, who was on duty at the time of the incident, were arrested.
An official said Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which deals with punishment for cruelty to children, says that if such offense is committed by a person employed or managed by an organization Who is entrusted with the care and protection of the children, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with a fine of Rs 5 lakh or with both, it added in the FIR.
The doctors were sent to police custody for three days. After his police-custody ended on Thursday, he was sent to 1-day judicial custody by a court here.Police have found that Khichi was running the hospital illegally as his license had expired on March 31. He had a license for a five-bed hospital but was found treating 12 newborns.
The six newborns who died were on ventilators when the hospital fire broke out, officials said.
According to the police, Khichi has revealed that she had applied for renewal of the license on February 21 and had also requested the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Delhi to allow her to run a 15-bed hospital on the SAM campus.
“But the agency concerned neither allowed them to continue the facility nor allowed them to close it,” said an official.,
The official said police have written to the concerned DGHS unit to gather information about the process of granting licenses to such hospitals.
Police suspect negligence on the part of DGHS officials and action may be taken against them if any irregularities are found.
Apart from Akash, two other doctors working at the hospital have BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) degrees, an official said.
The official said they would write to the Delhi Indian Medical Council (DBCP) to take action against the three doctors as they were working as pediatricians in a child care hospital. These three BAMS doctors were appointed as a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) for Rs 40,000.Each per month, the official said.
Police said degrees and certificates of all hospital staff have been handed over to investigators and are being verified.
Statements of all staff members, parents of children and eyewitnesses have been recorded. The police have found no negligence on the part of Khichi's wife Dr. Jagriti, as she neither owned the property nor had any stake in the hospital.
Police said Jagriti, a dentist, owns another children's hospital in Paschim Pur in Paschim Vihar area and the facility was opened in 2013.Another official with knowledge of the investigation said Khichi opened the Vivek Vihar branch of the hospital in 2015 without proper documentation. The hospital was closed in 2020 after a nurse allegedly beat a newborn baby and the act was captured on CCTV cameras.
In 2021, Khichi re-obtained the license and started running a five-bed hospital in Vivek Vihar.
According to police, a fire broke out at Baby Care New Born Child Hospital on Saturday night. Hospital owner Dr. Naveen Khichi and Dr. Akash, who was on duty at the time of the incident, were arrested.
An official said Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which deals with punishment for cruelty to children, says that if such offense is committed by a person employed or managed by an organization Who is entrusted with the care and protection of the children, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with a fine of Rs 5 lakh or with both, it added in the FIR.
The doctors were sent to police custody for three days. After his police-custody ended on Thursday, he was sent to 1-day judicial custody by a court here.Police have found that Khichi was running the hospital illegally as his license had expired on March 31. He had a license for a five-bed hospital but was found treating 12 newborns.
The six newborns who died were on ventilators when the hospital fire broke out, officials said.
According to the police, Khichi has revealed that she had applied for renewal of the license on February 21 and had also requested the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Delhi to allow her to run a 15-bed hospital on the SAM campus.
“But the agency concerned neither allowed them to continue the facility nor allowed them to close it,” said an official.,
The official said police have written to the concerned DGHS unit to gather information about the process of granting licenses to such hospitals.
Police suspect negligence on the part of DGHS officials and action may be taken against them if any irregularities are found.
Apart from Akash, two other doctors working at the hospital have BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) degrees, an official said.
The official said they would write to the Delhi Indian Medical Council (DBCP) to take action against the three doctors as they were working as pediatricians in a child care hospital. These three BAMS doctors were appointed as a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) for Rs 40,000.Each per month, the official said.
Police said degrees and certificates of all hospital staff have been handed over to investigators and are being verified.
Statements of all staff members, parents of children and eyewitnesses have been recorded. The police have found no negligence on the part of Khichi's wife Dr. Jagriti, as she neither owned the property nor had any stake in the hospital.
Police said Jagriti, a dentist, owns another children's hospital in Paschim Pur in Paschim Vihar area and the facility was opened in 2013.Another official with knowledge of the investigation said Khichi opened the Vivek Vihar branch of the hospital in 2015 without proper documentation. The hospital was closed in 2020 after a nurse allegedly beat a newborn baby and the act was captured on CCTV cameras.
In 2021, Khichi re-obtained the license and started running a five-bed hospital in Vivek Vihar.
