Negligence, not short circuit caused AMRI fire: Report

Kolkata: The report of Justice Tapan Mukherjee Commission that was constituted to probe the incident of fire at AMRI hospital in Dhakuria in December 2011 has pointed out that it occurred due to negligence on the part of the hospital authorities and ruled out any short circuit as the cause of the fire.

The Inquiry Commission's report was placed before the State Assembly on Wednesday, seven years after its formation.

The Commission headed by Justice Tapan Mukherjee was constituted on December 15, six days after the devastating fire snuffed out the lives of around 90 patients.

The report has stated that a number of highly inflammable materials was stored inside the hospital. The upper basement of the hospital, which was meant for car parking, was serving as a godown of medicines and food stalls were set up there. The previous government had made a number of recommendations to the hospital in regard to the revamp of the fire safety mechanism but the hospital authorities simply cooled their heels.

The Commission had submitted the probe report of AMRI to the state government on May 6, 2017, recommendeing an ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh to be paid to the family members of the deceased.

The Commission had also recommended legal actions against the Board of Directors of the hospital for flouting the rule of fire safety measures.

In this respect, the Detective department of Kolkata Police had filed chargesheet against 16 persons, including 12 members of the Board of Directors before the third additional district and sessions judge of Alipore court.

The 214-page report further mentions detailed statements of all the witnesses and the forensic report to corroborate the findings of the Commission.