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The AMRI probe has undermined the chief minister’s promise of being “fair” with sleuths turning a blind eye to fire officials who allowed the Dhakuria hospital to run despite fire hazards and government officials who were mute witnesses to the fatal violation of safety norms.
Metro has spoken to relatives of the victims, lawyers of the arrested directors and a section of cops and identified a few prominent persons who could have prevented the December 9 tragedy had they acted by the book but have not been named as accused.
According to investigators, AMRI Dhakuria had not been issued a fire licence at least since 2008 and had been operating on the strength of provisional no-objection certificates.
Sources said Gopal Bhattacharya, the director of fire services, and Deepak Sarkar, the deputy director in-charge of fire protection, were responsible for issuing the NOCs to the hospital despite violation of safety norms in the basement that posed serious fire threats.
“The additional director of fire services, Debapriya Biswas, who is the signing authority, was in hospital during the period and Bhattacharya was in charge of issuing the certificate. He had cleared the papers prepared by Sarkar. There’s no denying that the two had been aware of the fire hazards,” said an officer in the detective department.
Bhattacharya, however, claimed he was unaware of what had happened before 2011 and slammed the civic body for allowing the violations.
“I have got nothing to do with the NOC. Inspectors are involved in the process.... Please don’t ask me anything,” said Bhattacharya.
Sarkar said he was “not involved” with issuing the NOC but refused to name who was. A few days back he was transferred from the department’s headquarters on Free School Street to Durgapur.
The most damning indictment of the firemen came from none other than public prosecutor Shaktinath Bhattacharya, whose recent submission at the Alipore court amounted to an admission that the fire department had been issuing no-objection certificates to the Dhakuria hospital year after year despite false promises by the management.
“Since 2008, the fire brigade has been issuing no-objection certificates (to the Dhakuria hospital) every year on the basis of affidavits (by the management promising to clean up the basement). And every year the hospital had failed to keep its word,” Bhattacharya had submitted on January 20.
The fire department had first asked the hospital management to clear the upper basement in 2008. The department had pointed out how an area earmarked for car parking had been converted into office space and also stocked with inflammable articles.
The AMRI authorities had agreed to mend ways and accordingly a provisional NOC was issued.
“This became the routine,” said the officer. “The latest NOC was issued in August 2011 following an affidavit by AMRI official Sanjib Pal, promising to clear the basement within 90 days. Preeta Banerjee, the AMRI vice-president, had submitted a similar affidavit last year.”
The basement fire that claimed 91 lives broke out days after the latest deadline expired. A probe revealed that the management had again failed to keep its promise.
“If Banerjee and Pal could be arrested, why not the fire department officials who kept issuing NOCs despite the violations? The officials are guilty of dereliction of duty,” said the police officer.
Among those whose roles have not yet come under the scanner, to the shock and surprise of the victims’ kin and sections of the police, are Soumendranath Banerjee, the former director of medical education, and Sukumar Bhattacharya, the special secretary in the health department.
Banerjee was chairman of the AMRI board from March 2008 to August 2011. Bhattacharya joined the board in June 2011. Swastha Bhavan officials said neither had filed any report on the violation of safety guidelines at the hospital.
“Like doctors Mani Chhetri and Pronab Dasgupta, the officials, too, should have been booked,” said an officer.
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