Two-month-old boy burnt in Mumbai hospital fire dies of cardiac arrest

Mumbai, November 22

A two-month-old boy, who had sustained severe injuries in a fire in the intensive care unit of a municipal hospital here, died of cardiac arrest in the early hours of Friday, a civic official said.

Prince Rajbhar sustained serious burns in the fire at the KEM Hospital on November 6, after which his left arm was amputated, the official said.

“Prince was put on maximum ventilator support and his condition deteriorated on Thursday night. He suffered a cardiac arrest at 2.30 am on Friday, and could not be revived,” the official said.

The baby suffered from congenital heart ailment, and was brought to the city from Varanasi for treatment, the official said.

On November 13, Prince’s father Pannilal Rajbhar filed a complaint at Bhoiwada police station, following which a case of negligence under Section 338 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the hospital staff, the official said.

Earlier this week, the boy's parents met Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Praveen Pardeshi.

The BMC offered a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, which was rejected by the parents who sought long-term rehabilitation.

Stung by criticism from various quarters, the civic body on Wednesday doubled the compensation it had previously offered Prince Rajbhar’s family to Rs 10 lakh.

At the group leaders’ meeting, it was also decided to frame a comprehensive compensation policy for victims of BMC’s negligence.

Ravi Raja, opposition leader in the BMC, said the issue of compensation was on the agenda of the group leaders meeting, where almost everyone unanimously thought the sum of Rs 5 lakh was meagre.

“Prince’s life has been ruined due to negligence on part of the BMC. We wanted a sum that would help him survive,” he said. PTI