Bhubaneswar, March 19: In the wake of a tragic fire incident at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on March 16, which officially claimed the lives of 12 patients, four officials have been suspended on charges of Negligence. The suspended individuals include three officials from the fire department and one engineer.
In response to the incident, opposition parties, including BJD and Congress, have intensified their protests both inside and outside the Odisha Assembly, demanding the resignation of Health Minister Dr. Mukesh Mahaling.
Following an investigation into the negligence allegations, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Chandra Majhi ordered the suspension of the four officials. They have been identified as Prakash Kumar Jena (Deputy Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle), Sanjeev Kumar Behera (Assistant Fire Officer, Cuttack Circle), Abhinav Prusti (Station Officer, SCB Medical College and Hospital), and Ranjan Kumar Biswal (Assistant Executive Engineer, SCB Sub-Division, GED, Cuttack).
Notably, the Chief Minister had previously established a six-member fact-finding team, led by Development Commissioner Devaranjan Kumar Singh, to investigate the causes of the fire at SCB Medical College.
Additionally, the state government has constituted a one-member judicial inquiry commission headed by retired District Judge Lakshmidhar Biswal. This commission has been directed to submit its report within 60 days from the date of notification published in the Odisha Gazette.
The commission’s mandate includes investigating the sequence of events related to the fire, determining the roles, conduct, and accountability of the involved individuals or officials, assessing the preparedness of the hospital and other agencies to handle such incidents, and evaluating the effectiveness of measures taken before and after the incident to save patients’ lives.
The government has also instructed the commission to provide recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies in the future.
Reports indicate that the devastating fire broke out in the ICU of the Trauma Care Center at SCB Medical College due to an electrical short circuit between 2 AM and 3 AM on Monday night.