Rajkot hospital fire:Guj forms probe panel under retd HC judge

The Gujarat government on Monday constituted an inquiry commission under Gujarat High Court judge DA Mehta (retd) to probe the Rajkot hospital fire in which five COVID-19 patients died on November 27, an official release said.

The Gujarat government on Monday constituted an inquiry commission under Gujarat High Court judge DA Mehta (retd) to probe the Rajkot hospital fire in which five COVID-19 patients died on November 27, an official release said. Interestingly, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday announced appointment of High Court judge KA Puj (retd) as the head of the commission.

The government on Monday said justice Puj has been replaced with justice Mehta due to the busy schedule of the former, so that the inquiry is completed in time. Justice Mehta Commission has been asked to submit its report in three months, it said.

Justice Puj heads another commission set up to conduct a judicial inquiry into the Shrey Hospital fire in Ahmedabad which killed eight coronavirus positive patients in August this year. He also heads a panel probing the alleged police atrocities on agitators belonging to the Patidar community during the 2015 quota stir in Gujarat, and Fee Regulation Committee of Ahmedabad Zone as its chairman.

Five COVID-19 patients were killed in a blaze which broke out in the ICU ward of Uday Shivanand COVID Hospital in Rajkot, while 28 others were rescued. On Sunday, five persons, including top officials of the hospital management, were booked under section 304-A (Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code after a preliminary probe revealed gross negligence on their part, police had said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)