Amid mounting allegations of negligence, mismanagement and fire-safety lapses by patients’ families following the blaze that killed six people at a private hospital in Muzaffarpur, police on Friday arrested three members of the hospital’s management and medical staff.
They have allegedly been found responsible for immediate lapses in patient care and emergency response in the facility’s intensive care unit (ICU).
The arrests come amid an ongoing probe into the fire at Prasad Hospital in the Brahampura police station area, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday morning and triggered a large-scale evacuation of critically ill patients.
Muzaffarpur City Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mohibullah Ansari said on Friday that an FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the Sub-Divisional Fire Officer of Muzaffarpur.
Those arrested include the hospital’s maintenance head, administrative head, and the doctor who was supposed to be on duty in the ICU at the time of the incident but was allegedly absent.
“Due to their immediate negligence, some people lost their lives,” Ansari said.
He said the investigation was examining the roles of the hospital’s owner and director, including whether there were any violations of building regulations and fire safety standards.
“We are conducting a fire safety audit to determine whether it was carried out on time and in accordance with regulations. If negligence is found in these aspects, the hospital owner will also be arrested and sent to judicial custody,” he said.
Five of the victims had been identified by Thursday evening as Shashank Kumar of Ratanpur in Aurai, Geeta Devi of Motipur, Uday Jha of Tariyani, Krishnanandan of Aurai, and Sanjeet Kumar of Sahebganj.
The sixth victim was identified as Brajnandan Rai of Baghi village, who had sustained severe burn injuries and was shifted to another healthcare facility after the fire. Family members had said on Thursday that his condition was critical.
Rai’s family had also alleged that they spent hours searching for him after patients were shifted from the hospital following the fire. Relatives claimed he was eventually traced at another healthcare facility after 5 hours with severe burns and was initially found without adequate medical arrangements and attention before being shifted to a better hospital for further treatment.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, district authorities had indicated that a short circuit linked to equipment in the ICU was suspected to have caused the fire, though officials said the exact cause would be determined only after a detailed investigation.
Meanwhile, family members of victims have alleged serious lapses on the part of the hospital administration, claiming there was little or no assistance from staff during the emergency.
Kumar Satyam, son of deceased patient Uday Jha, said his father had been admitted on June 1 after developing a fever and was scheduled to be discharged on Thursday. “There was no hospital staff helping patients. I saw one or two patients dragging themselves out of the ICU. Nobody was there to rescue them. The fire system and sprinklers were not working,” he alleged.
According to him, firefighters reached the hospital within about half an hour but required additional time to access the affected floor.
“By then, many people had suffocated. The biggest responsibility lies with the hospital administration. There were several staff members on duty, yet nobody noticed smoke building up inside the ICU,” he claimed.
Another relative, Mukesh Kumar, alleged that hospital personnel failed to assist patients during the crisis.
“The patients were under the hospital’s care and protection. Staff should have helped them get out. Instead, patients were struggling while attendants and people from outside pulled them to safety,” he claimed.
