When Aman Vishwakarma got a call from his 19-year-old son, who was in hospital, there was no voice at first. And then he heard him screaming, "Papa, there is fire all around. Please come and save me."
Those were the last words of Tanmay Vishwakarma, the youngest among eight people -- five patients and three staff members -- who died in the fire at a private hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur on August 1.
The father kept trying to get back in touch, but the call won't go through.
Barely two hours earlier, Tanmay had sent a picture of himself to his family and friends, saying he would be back soon. He was on a saline drip after being admitted earlier in the day as he complained of weakness.
"There was some problem near his ear... He'd been feeling weak," the father, a plumber, told NDTV.
"Dr Sanjay Patel (at New Life Multi-Specialty Hospital) had asked him to come at 11 am. He got late, and eventually went after noon. Doctors recommended hospitalisation."
"I got a call from him at 2.49 pm, when he said 'Papa, save me..." recalled Mr Vishwakarma, as he broke down.
"How can the government give approvals to such hospitals? they should be given the strictest punishment," he said. He could not share more details.
Tanmay's friend Gagan Dahiya had been with him at the hospital before the fire broke out. "I got a call from Tanmay around 12.30, saying that I should take him. He said he was too weak to ride the bike himself. They gave him a saline drip," he said.
"Around 2.30 I got a call from home to have lunch, and I left. In the meantime, we came to know that there was a fire at the hospital. We ran there. But my friend died," he said.
"We want that the licence of such hospitals should be cancelled. The strictest action should be taken against them," he too said.
Police have registered a case against hospital directors Dr Nischint Gupta, Dr Suresh Patel, Dr Sanjay Patel and Dr Santosh Soni, besides assistant manager Ram Soni, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 (causing death by negligence) and 308 (culpable homicide), among other charges. Dr Santosh Soni has been arrested.
Investigators have so far said the fire appears to have been caused due to a short circuit.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of those killed in the fire.
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