IMA appoints team of 3 to probe Gorakhpur deaths

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has appointed a team of three members to inquire into the death of nearly 70 children at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur city.
The team has been directed to submit their report within 48 hours, a statement by the IMA said.
The committee comprises K P Kushwaha and B B Gupta from IMA, Gorakhpur, and Ashok Aggarwal NVP IMA, Allahabad.
It will look into various aspects like whether the incident was due to failure of oxygen system, why an alert was not sounded in adavnce, why was the oxygen supply allowed to cease and what were the engineers doing during the period, the statement said.

The panel of doctors will ascertain if there was any medical negligence and if the deaths were avoidable, it added.
Nearly 70 children, including infants, have died at the state-run Baba Raghav Das Medical College since August 7 due to various causes including encephalitis.
Many of the deaths were alleged to have been caused by shortage of oxygen, a claim dismissed by the Uttar Pradesh government.