An ex gratia of ₹5 lakh has been announced for parents of each of the deceased babies and ₹50,000 for each of the injured babies’ families.
The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday ordered a three-tier probe into the massive fire that killed ten newborn babies at Jhansi’s Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College late on Friday.
The state government also announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh to the parents of each of the deceased babies and ₹50,000 to families of each injured.
Of the ten deceased babies, seven have been identified and the process to identify the rest three is still underway, with parents and relatives seeking answers from authorities over the incident.
Avinash Kumar, the Jhansi District Magistrate, said that the fire broke out around 10:45 pm on Friday in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the facility, which is one of the largest government hospitals in UP’s Bundelkhand region. He said that the fire erupted due to possible electrical short circuit.
Three-tier probe ordered
While a three-tier probe has been ordered into the incident, CM Yogi has also directed the Divisional Commissioner of Jhansi and the deputy inspector general of police to submit a report within 12 hours.
A statement from the state government said that as soon as the CM found out about the incident, he sent deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and the principal health secretary to the medical facility.
Pathak told on Saturday that strict action would be taken against those found guilty. Further, in a post on X, he said, “Instructions have been given for a three-tier investigation into the unfortunate fire accident that occurred in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNCU Ward) of Maharani Laxmibai Medical College, Jhansi.”
He added that a magisterial inquiry has also been ordered into the incident.
Speaking to reporters, the deputy CM also noted that efforts are underway to identify the remaining newborn babies who lost their lives in the tragic incident. “We will found out the reasons behind the incident and whose negligence led to it. The first challenge is to give quality treatment to the injured children,” he said.
