Bhubaneswar, March 18 Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi suspended four officers on Wednesday for dereliction of duty, two days after a fire at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack killed 12 patients, officials said.
The suspended officials include three personnel from the Odisha Fire Service and one from the electrical department.
Preliminary investigations suggest the fire may have been caused by a short circuit in the air-conditioners.
"In the wake of the horrific fire incident at the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack, which resulted in the loss of many lives, Majhi has taken strong action by placing four officers under suspension," the chief minister's office said in a statement.
Sources said the action was taken based on preliminary findings of the fact-finding committee headed by development commissioner DK Singh.
The suspended officers are deputy fire officer Prakash Kumar Jena, assistant fire officer Sanjib Kumar Behera (both Cuttack circle), station officer of SCB Medical and Hospital Abhinav Prusty, and assistant executive engineer of SCB sub-division under Cuttack GED, Ranjan Kumar Biswal.
The fire broke out in the trauma care ICU on the first floor of the hospital’s trauma care block around 2:30-3 am on March 16. At the time, 23 patients were admitted. Twelve patients died, and at least 11 staff were injured during rescue and evacuation operations.
Majhi, who visited the site about an hour after the fire, had ordered a judicial probe and announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased patient.