Fire tragedy: Trust president arrested, ED to probe

Founder president of the trust that ran the hospital here where a massive blaze killed 21 people was today arrested even as the SIT on black money asked the Enforcement Directorate to probe the trust's money transactions while the Odisha Government issued a show cause notice to the medical facility for license scrapping.
Manoj Ranjan Nayak, founder president of Sikshya O Anusandhan Charitable Trust that runs the SUM Hospital here, surrendered before the police and was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation, barely hours after the Odisha police issued a Lookout Circular against him and his wife Saswati Das, also a trustee.

After hours of interrogation by the police, Nayak was produced in the evening before Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Kamala Kanta Nayak who sent him on police remand for two days from tomorrow after rejecting his bail application.
With Nayak's arrest the total number of people arrested by police in connection with the fire tragedy on Monday evening rose to five.
Manoj Nayak was arrested after he surrendered at Khandagiri Police Station and taken for interrogation, Commissioner of Police, Y B Khurania told reporters.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has issued a show cause notice to Sum Hospital asking it to explain as to why its clinical licence would not be cancelled in wake of the fire mishap in which 21 peopled were killed.

The notice was issued by Khurda District Collector, which had on July 7 granted a conditional certificate of registration for a clinical establishment.

The Bhubaneswar Development Authority has launched a probe verifying whether the hospital building was constructed as per its approved plan.
Even as Nayak was being interrogated, information came that the the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money has asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe the financial transactions of the trust he headed.
ED has been directed to examine all financial transactions of the trust that runs several institutions including the SUM Hospital.
Officials said the vice-chairman of the Supreme Court- appointed SIT on black money Justice Arijit Pasayat has also asked Odisha Police to cooperate with the ED during its probe.

"We have received a letter from the SIT on black money last night asking us to cooperate with the ED which is to probe money transactions of Sikshya O Anusandhan Charitable Trust," said Director General of Police K B Singh.
The SIT has asked the police to ensure that no document or evidence pertaining to financial transactions of the trust including the hospital are tampered with, he said.
Earlier, four senior officials of Sum Hospital including its Superintendent Pushparaj Samantasinghar were arrested on Tuesday night on the basis of an FIR lodged by the state's fire service department.