Farrukhabad deaths: Probe committee formed after DM, CMO, CMS's removal

Farrukhabad/Lucknow: Blaming district health administration for being insensitive which led to deaths of 49 children during last one month in government hospital in Farrukhabad, the Uttar Pradesh government rejected the report of the District Magistrate and set up a probe committee headed by Director, Health, UP.

Prashant Trivedi, the Principal Secretary, Health department of UP, was blatant in his observation calling the administration 'insensitive' and blamed lack of coordination between hospital authorities and district administration for the death of children. In a stringent action in Farrukhabad children deaths, the state government already removed District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr. Umakant Pandey and Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) Dr. Akhilesh Agarwal, of the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital on Monday.

The decision was taken following a preliminary report by the district administration against the errant doctors. The city magistrate of Farukkhabad had, however, lodged a complaint against the CMO and CMS of the RML hospital, at the Kotwali.

Meanwhile, talking to media in Lucknow, Prashant Trivedi also discarded the initial report of the DM in which he had mentioned short supply of oxygen in the hospital.

The two doctors were booked under sections 176, 188 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code. Sub-Inspector Bunny Singh has been handed the probe and has been asked to expeditiously investigate the matter.

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Of these, 30 children at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital died in the neonatal critical care unit and 19 in the delivery room.

It could be recalled that Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College had had witnessed the same case of more than 60 children, mostly infants, dying at the hospital within the span of a week, reportedly due to encephalitis and lack of oxygen, in August last.

The administration had, however, did not remove the DM of the city earlier.