Doctor couple among 5 killed in Dhanbad nursing home fire

Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Jan 28

At least five persons, including a doctor couple, were killed in a fire in a nursing home in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad today, an official said. The deceased include the medical establishment’s owner Dr Vikas Hazra (64), his wife Dr Prema Hazra (58), the owner’s nephew Sohan Khamari and domestic help Tara Devi. The pet dog of the couple also died in the incident.

A fire broke out in the storeroom of the nursing home-cum-private house in Bank More area of Dhanbad, 170 km from Ranchi, around 2 am, he said. Six fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire, which was brought under control in a one-and-a-half-hour-long operation. Dhanbad SDM Prem Kumar Tiwary said, “At least five persons, including the owner and his wife, died due to suffocation following a fire in the store room. One person is also injured. The cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained and further investigation is underway.” Four deceased have been identified, while the fifth person is yet to be identified, he added.

The doctor couple was renowned in the coal city and served people for more than 30 years. Dr Vikas was the son of well-known gynaecologist late Dr CC Hazra. In the 1950s, private colliery owners of Gujarat appointed Dr CC Hazra for providing medical services in Dhanbad.

After the nationalisation of the coal industry in the country, Dr Vikas’s father set up a private maternity hospital —RC Hazra Memorial Hospital— on Telephone Exchange Road in Dhanbad in 1982. Dr Vikas was an IVF specialist and among the top gynaecologists in the state. He had pressed his entire family into the service of poor patients.

The couple has left behind a son and a daughter, both medical students. The couple studied at Bangalore Medical College and tied the knot after completing their course. Thereafter, Dr Vikas returned to Dhanbad and started his medical practice.