Bhubaneswar, Oct. 28: A local court today granted bail to Manoj Ranjan Nayak, the owner of the IMS and Sum Hospital where a fire mishap claimed 25 lives on October 17.

Nayak's case came up for hearing at the court of additional district judge (II), Bhubaneswar yesterday, the verdict of which was announced today.

Police arrested Nayak on October 20 and charged him under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court, which had reserved its verdict after completing the hearing of the bail petition on Thursday, granted bail to Nayak on a surety of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties.

His defence counsel S.N. Das raised several issues with the court. He said: "Nayak has no links with the fire tragedy and he was not responsible for what happened on that night."

However, the court has put certain limitations on Nayak as conditions for his bail, such as co-operation with the investigating agency. He would also have to appear before the police as and when required. The court also granted bail to hospital superintendent Pusparaj Samantsinghar, who was arrested for his alleged role in the tragedy.

On October 17, a fire broke out in the first-floor Intensive Care Unit and dialysis ward of the 1,200-bed Sum hospital, one of the city's top private health care centres. The fire forced the hospital authorities to shift 138 patients from the hospital to 12 different health care centres across Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, including SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and Capital Hospital here. While 19 patients died on the day of the incident, six others died subsequently at other hospitals during the course of their treatment.

The police, on October 19, issued a lookout circular against Nayak and his wife - both trustees of the Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University that runs the hospital - to prevent the duo from fleeing from the country. However, Nayak surrendered before the cops at Khandagiri police station the following day.

The cops have also registered a case against the hospital management on the basis of a complaint filed by the fire services directorate alleging the hospital authorities ignored their recommendations for fire fighting measures in 2013.

The directorate has alleged that the hospital was functioning without a valid fire safety certificate. So far, the police have arrested five persons, including Nayak and Samantsinghar, for the tragedy.

In a related development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today started its investigation into allegations of money laundering by the trust, which runs the hospital and several other institutions.

The ED has asked the trust to submit its financial information for the past 10 years. Sources said the ED had also sought data such as fees collected from patients and medial admission fees in the recent past.