Mani Chhetri

AMRI Hospitals managing director Mani Chhetri, 91, has been granted interim bail but Pronab Dasgupta, the other doctor-member of the board behind bars, will remain in police custody till February 6.

The judicial custody of directors S.K. Todi and D.N. Agarwal, lodged in Alipore Central jail, has been extended till February 16.

Three other directors — Manish Goenka, Prashant Goenka and Ravi Todi — moved the high court for bail on Wednesday. Two others, R.S. Goenka and R.S. Agarwal, had done so earlier.

The Alipore chief judicial magistrate, C.H. Karim, allowed bail till February 16 to Chhetri because of his health. The doctor has been in the intensive coronary care unit of SSKM Hospital since his arrest on January 27.

The bail has been granted against a surety of Rs 20,000 and with the condition that Chhetri could not leave Calcutta and would have to hand over his passport to the investigating officer.

Chhetri’s lawyer Samaraditya Pal said the 91-year-old doctor had been suffering from serious illnesses, which had been mentioned in the report submitted by SSKM Hospital. “In the past seven days, Chhetri had suffered internal haemorrhage, causing blood-clots in his hands. It may turn out to be fatal if the haemorrhage attacks his brain.”

Pal said the prosecution had wrongly claimed that Chhetri did not bother to visit the hospital the day the fire broke out. “He rushed to the spot around 5am, as soon as he came to know of the incident. He spoke to fire brigade officers and the director of medical education and told them to take all kinds of measures to save patients’ lives.”

Pal claimed that Chhetri was not managing director of the hospital when the fire broke out. “He had resigned in March 2011.” AMRI sources, however, later told Metro that he was at the helm when the fire broke out.

Opposing the bail plea, public prosecutor Shaktinath Bhattacharya submitted that the police were concerned about Chhetri’s health. “He was promptly admitted to the SSKM ICCU after he complained of chest pain. Let him be there under the observation of doctors. If his health improves within seven days, the stipulated duration of police custody, the police will interrogate him with the permission of doctors. He may be taken to some places from where crucial documents could be recovered.”

Bhattacharya also referred to Chhetri’s petition which stated that he looked after healthcare at AMRI Dhakuria. “The safety of the patients falls under the hospital’s healthcare system.”

After listening to both sides, the magistrate granted interim bail to Chhetri. “He (Chhetri) cannot be made ambulant at this moment. He needs to be under close observation of doctors,” he read out from the order around 9.30pm, some four hours after the hearing ended.

Chhetri’s son Milan, a doctor at a private hospital, thanked chief minister Mamata Banerjee following the order.

Arguing for Pronab Dasgupta’s bail, Tapen Roychowdhury said his client needed special care as both his knees had been replaced. “If granted bail, he won’t flee or tamper with evidence. Besides, he was supposed to perform surgeries on a number of patients. At the least, he should be allowed to sleep on an orthopaedic bed, which he requires,” Roychowdhury said.

Arranging an orthopaedic bed would not be possible for the police, replied the public prosecutor. “If Dasgupta’s family wants to provide it, we have no objection.”

The police custody of AMRI officials Preeta Banerjee and Sajid Hossain has been extended till February 6. The judicial custody of two others, Satyabrata Upadhyay and Sanjib Pal, has been extended till February16.