A Delhi court on Monday denied bail to Dr Akash (26), who was working at BabyCare Newborn Hospital in Vivek Vihar when a fire broke out on May 26, killing six newborns.
The court noted that it was highly insensitive for the defendant Ayurvedic doctor to argue that the baby was not a victim of fire and had died of suffocation.
The paper said that despite knowing that as a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) doctor, based on his certificate from the Haryana Medical Council, he was entitled to practice only in Haryana, he went ahead and started working in the NICU, the most sensitive area in the hospital.
“No logical reason has been given as to why Dr Akash, despite being a doctor at BAMS, would have been keen to learn the practice of allopathic medicine and would have sought to do so by working in the critical care ward of the hospital,” the court order stated.
The doctor had applied for bail after his arrest on May 26. He was remanded in police custody and later remanded in judicial custody.
While refusing bail to Akash, the court said police investigations had revealed that when the fire broke out, he called the hospital management instead of calling the police or fire department. This process, the court said, wasted about 30 minutes which could have saved the newborn’s life.
Akash argued in court that he was only working at the hospital as an intern because he wanted to learn how the allopathic healthcare system worked, but was neither part of the team of doctors nor a supervisor.
The court said police investigations showed otherwise. During the investigation, nurses and other hospital staff reportedly revealed that Dr Akash had not only treated the infant but also prescribed medicines.
In his bail application, Dr Akash said he joined the hospital in January 2024 and was assigned the role of looking after neonatal patients along with other doctors and nursing staff.
The court said it would deny bail as the accused may abscond and could also influence witnesses.
Advocate Satyam Singh, representing Dr Akash at Karkardooma court, said the doctor had recently completed his BAMS degree from a university in Haryana and had been issued a licence to practise medicine from 2023.
He lives in Charkhi Dadri in Haryana and his father is a farmer and his mother is a housewife. “He has only recently started working. He joined Vivek Vihar Hospital to gain experience so that he can return to his village and set up his own clinic,” Singh said.
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