Owner of Delhi hospital where fire killed 7 newborns arrested: Police

Dr Naveen Kichi had been on the run since the fire outbreak late on Saturday, police said

Police arrested the owner of the east Delhi children's hospital where a fire killed seven newborns, officials said on Sunday.

Dr Naveen Kichi had been on the run since the fire outbreak late on Saturday, they said.

Delhi Fire Services officials said a blaze erupted at the Baby Care New Born Hospital in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar area around 11:30 pm on Saturday and spread to two adjacent buildings.

Twelve newborns were rescued from the facility but seven of them died. Five babies are undergoing treatment at another hospital, they said.

Delhi Police has booked him under sections 336 (act endangering life of personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC at Vivek Vihar police station.

 

 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday described the incident as "heart-breaking" and prayed for the early recovery of the injured children.

He also conveyed his deepest condolences to the grieving parents of the newborn children who lost their lives in the hospital fire.

"The news of the death of many newborn babies due to fire in a Baby Care Hospital in Delhi is extremely heart-breaking. My deepest condolences to all the grieving parents and relatives. I hope that the injured children recover and get well as soon as possible," he said in a post in Hindi on X.