NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAY 6
The Gujarat government on Thursday announced the formation of a judicial commission under a retired high court judge to inquire into the last week”s fire at a hospital in Bharuch in which 18 persons, including 16 coronavirus patients, were killed.
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The May 1 blaze at the Patel Welfare Hospital in Bharuch had also killed two trainee nurses.
The commission will be headed by Justice (retd) D A Mehta, who will inquire into all aspects of the fire tragedy, an official release said here.
Under the Commission of Inquiry Act we have appointed an Inquiry Commission headed by retired high court judge justice D A Mehta for an in-depth inquiry into the fire incident, Minister of State for home Pradeepsinh Jadeja told reporters.
“The commission will inquiry into all aspects of the fire and submit its report to the state government soon,” he said.
Justice Mehta had earlier conducted judicial inquiries into fire incidents at two private hospitals in Ahmedabad and Rajkot in which coronavirus patients were killed.
He had submitted separate reports to the state government on March 29. However, the government is yet to make their findings public.
The fires took place in Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad’s Navrangpura on August 5 last year, in which eight COVID-19 patients died, and Uday Shivanand Covid Hospital in Rajkot last November that saw the death of five coronavirus patients.
After the Patel Welfare Hospital fire, the Centre had issued an advisory asking state governments to take precautionary steps to avoid such incidents.
The Gujarat high court had also issued notices to the state government and the trust that runs the Bharuch hospital.
