6 arrests so far in Gorakhpur children deaths case, clerk held

Gorakhpur: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested a clerk of the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, taking to six the number of those held in connection with the death of dozens of children in the state-run hospital in August.

Gorakhpur Senior Superintendent of Police Anirudh Sidhartha Pankaj said that clerk Sanjay Tripathi was arrested from the Cantonment police station area and produced in an anti-corruption court in Gorakhpur.

He was sent to 14-day judicial custody.

With today's arrest, the police have managed to nab six of the nine accused named in the FIR filed in this case. Sudhir Pandey, also a clerk, was arrested from near the Khajanchi Chowk area last week.

On Sunday, Dr Satish, the former head of the anaesthesia department at the Baba Raghav Das Medical (BRD) College, had surrendered himself before the anti-corruption court in Gorakhpur.

On September 2, ex-chief of the encephalitis wing in the hospital Dr Kafeel Khan was arrested, while the Special Task Force of UP police had arrested ex-principal Rajiv Mishra and his wife Purnima Shukla on August 29.

Mishra was suspended as principal of the medical college on August 12 after the deaths were reported. He had resigned the same day taking moral responsibility. A committee headed by Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar probing the Gorakhpur tragedy had recommended initiating criminal action against Mishra, Dr Satish, Dr Khan and Pushpa Sales, the supplier of oxygen cylinders.

There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to a disruption in oxygen supply over unpaid bills to the vendor. The state government had vehemently denied that shortage of oxygen led to the deaths. Mishra was accused of sitting over the issue of payments to the vendor supplying oxygen to the hospital.

More than 60 children, mostly infants, had died at the hospital within a week in August.