Cannot say when the FIR will be registered, state police

Ahmedabad: While FIRs are quickly registered in most fire incidents, no FIR has yet been registered in the Shrey Hospital tragedy of Thursday, in which eight Covid-19 patients died from asphyxiation.

ACP, A division, L B Zala said they are waiting for the forensic report and the electrical department’s opinion. “We need to know the exact cause of fire. We need to ascertain whether it was accidental or due to any lapse on part of the hospital. If any negligence is found in those reports, an FIR will be registered, but we can’t say when. We need evidence to register an FIR so that a case can stand in the court of law,” he added.

Navrangpura police station sources said that apart from recording the statement of Bharat Mahant, a main administrator of the hospital, they have recorded statements of eight others including two doctors. Mahant has refuted allegations of negligence on part of the hospital.

“Two administrators are ill and we have not recorded their statements yet,” said a senior police official.

DCP zone-1, Ravindra Patel, said that on Friday night, the fire department submitted their report but police have raised further queries about possible negligence on part of the hospital. “We suspect a spark triggered the fire. We have also asked the fire department to give us a detailed report as to how the fire spread so rapidly,” Patel said.

Yet to check hospital documents

“We have to check the documents of the hospital. The hospital was run by Bharat Mahant and two others who are currently ill. One is suffering from Covid-19 and the other is battling cancer. We need to know what share each had in the hospital in both finance and administration,” said a senior police official.