Bhubaneswar, March 18 – Following the tragic fire incident at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on March 16, which officially claimed the lives of 12 patients, as many as four individuals – including three fire department officials and one engineer – have been suspended on charges of negligence in their duties.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJD and Congress intensified protests both inside and outside the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Health Minister Dr. Mukesh Mahaling.
Acting on the findings of negligence, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has already ordered the suspension of the four officials: Prakash Kumar Jena, Deputy Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle; Sanjeeb Kumar Behera, Assistant Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle; Abhinab Prusty, Station Officer, SCB Medical College and Hospital; and Ranjan Kumar Biswal, Assistant Executive Engineer, SCB Sub-Division under GED, Cuttack.
It is worth noting that the Chief Minister had earlier constituted a six-member fact-finding team, chaired by Development Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh, to investigate the causes of the fire incident at the SCB Medical College in Cuttack.
The state government had also constituted a single-member judicial commission of inquiry, comprising retired district judge Laxmidhar Biswal.
The commission has been instructed to submit its report within 60 days from the date of publication of the notification in the Odisha Gazette.
The commission has been tasked with examining the sequence of events leading to the fire, the role, conduct, and accountability of individuals or authorities involved, the preparedness of the hospital and other agencies in dealing with such incidents, and the effectiveness of measures taken before and after the incident to save patients' lives.
The government has also asked the commission to make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies.
According to reports, a major fire broke out in the ICU of the Trauma Care Centre at SCB Medical College due to a suspected electrical short circuit between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Monday.
As many as 12 patients died in the fire accident.