In August 2017, Yogi Adityanath was facing his first crisis, within five months of taking oath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The death of 30 infants in the encephalitis ward of the Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in his home turf of Gorakhpur, allegedly owing to oxygen shortage, had the entire state machinery scrambling. The situation was making headlines and giving the comatose opposition plenty of ammunition.
Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against nine persons, including the principal, oxygen supplier, and hospital doctors and staff for criminal negligence. Ever since, while the rest of the accused have largely