Calcutta, Jan. 28: The government representatives on the AMRI Hospitals board and some of their predecessors will be questioned over the next few days in connection with the December 9 fire that claimed 91 lives, police sources said today. "After the arrest of two doctors yesterday, we are zeroing in on the role of the government representatives on the AMRI board. We'll question them in the next few days," a senior officer in Lalbazar told The Telegraph. The AMRI board is required to have two representatives from the state government, which holds a 1.9 per cent stake in the Dhakuria hospital. These ex-officio representatives are the director of medical education (DME), who holds the board chairman's post, and the special secretary (health). The police will, however, question three men: former DME Soumendra Nath Banerjee (current DME Sushanta Banerjee has not yet been inducted into the AMRI board); special secretary (health) Sukumar Bhattacharya; and his predecessor Ashim Kumar Das who retired as special secretary (health) last May. These officials, none of whom has been questioned so far, will be asked about the extent of their involvement in the hospital's day-to-day running. "They will also be asked whether they knew about the irregularities in following fire safety and building norms and, if yes, why they had not reported this to the government," the official said. Lalbazar sources said the move was a late development resulting from the government's attempt to portray itself as fair amid allegations of the probe discriminating against a particular business community. Two doctors on the AMRI board, Mani Chhetri and Pronab Dasgupta, were arrested yesterday as part of this bid. Police sources said Soumendra regularly attended board meetings. They added that seized documents had revealed the dates of two key board decisions: one, to convert the basement of the Annexe I building, where the fire broke out, into offices and two, to form a fire-safety committee. "The second decision proves that fire safety came under the board's purview. We are finding out which board members were present at the meetings where these decisions were passed," a source said. State health department officials said that none of the government representatives had filed any reports about irregularities. "There was no directive for them to do so. We are planning to frame guidelines about the responsibilities of government representatives on boards of private hospitals in which the state has a stake," the current DME said. At SSKM, where Chhetri, 91, is in police custody, the policemen guarding him said he had been extremely courteous. "Whenever he needs to use the washroom, he seeks our permission," an officer said. Sources said Dasgupta, a gynaecologist, had been equally cooperative at the Lalbazar lock-up. "Both have said they have no problem complying with whatever we ask them to do and that their age shouldn't come in the way of anything," an officer said. He quoted Dasgupta as telling a policeman: "It's our fate and we will deal with it. Please let us know what you want from us and we will do that to the best of our ability." Dasgupta, who had a piece of toast and a cup of tea for dinner, sought a favour from the police at night ---- a cellphone, so he could find out how Chhetri was doing in hospital. Chhetri had complained of uneasiness and chest pain around 8.30 last night at Lalbazar. "We told him that as a doctor, he was the best judge of what needed to be done and asked him if we should get medicines for him. When he insisted on seeing a doctor, we rushed him to SSKM," an officer said. Chhetri is under observation at SSKM's intensive coronary care unit. Hospital officials said his blood pressure and pulse rate were high and that an ECG and pathology tests had revealed some cardiovascular irregularities. Chhetri had hospital food for lunch today. Several senior city doctors paid him a visit. | 
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment