7 newborns die in fire at East Delhi children’s hospital; owner arreste

Seven newborns were killed and five injured in a massive fire at a private neonatal hospital in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar. Officials stated the hospital was allegedly operating illegally with an expired licence and no fire department clearance.

On Sunday, police arrested the hospital’s owner, Dr Naveen Khichi, and Dr Aaksh, who was on duty at the time of the incident on Saturday night.

A report by the District Magistrate (Shahdara) to the Delhi Divisional Commissioner revealed that 12 babies were admitted to the hospital during the incident. One infant died on the spot, while 11 were shifted to a nearby hospital where six were declared dead on arrival.

The deceased included four boys and three girls, all 15 days old except one boy aged 25 days. The bodies were sent to GTB Hospital for postmortem, police said.

A case has been registered at Vivek Vihar police station under IPC sections 336 (act endangering life and personal safety of others), 304A (causing death by negligence), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide).