Gorakhpur: Oxygen shortage unreported, will punish guilty, assures UP govt

Yogi Adityanath directed that detailed probe is conducted into the incident & strict action be taken

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday said stringent action will be taken against those found guilty of the high number of death of infants in Gorakhpur's state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College.

Gorakhpur district magistrate Rajeev Rautela had yesterday said least 30 children had died in the Medical College within 48 hours.

However, state health minister Siddharth Nath Singh had said according to reports from the paediatric department of the college, 60 children had died due to various diseases since August 7.

"Whosoever is found guilty in the tragic and painful incident at Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur will certainly face stringent action," Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya told reporters here today.

According to the official Twitter account of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (@CMOfficeUP), Yogi Adityanath has directed that a detailed probe is conducted into the incident and strict action be ensured.

Meanwhile, Singh and Medical Education minister Ashutosh Tandon today left for Gorakhpur to take stock of the situation at the medical college.

Before leaving for Gorakhpur, Singh said, "The Chief Minister was not informed by the doctors and officials about the shortage of oxygen neither on July 9 or on August 9.

"The shortage of oxygen was not highlighted. The medical education minister was also not briefed about it. Appropriate action will be taken keeping these points in mind and a probe will be done," he said here.

Tandon said, "The Chief Minister is keeping a close watch on the entire issue. We will take appropriate action after investigating all aspects."

Though the Gorakhpur district magistrate had not given any reason for the deaths, the Union home ministry had said according to the SP of Gorakhpur, 21 children died due to the shortage of supply of liquid oxygen.

"As per SP Gorakhpur, 21 children died due to the shortage of supply of liquid oxygen in BRD Medical College, in last 36 hours. Senior officers are on the spot. The exact cause is being verified by the civil administration," a home ministry spokesperson had said.