Kolkata Fire

The recent events at the AMRI, not the fire, we all know that story, but how the government and the judiciary decided to act, baffles me. There was an accident - it could be caused due to the callousness of a few employees of the hospital or it could be an act of arson. One is as likely as the other. However, the government and the judiciary decided to go after the director, some of them never directly involved in the day to day operations of the hospital, and some were there as directors due to some special medical skills that they possess. The government and judiciary gave into popular demand, arrested the people who were not the actual perpetrators of the crime, while the actual criminal has gone scott-free.

This was a case of negligence and it did cost us dearly. But why the directors were targeted without any inquiry? why was the hospital’s license cancelled before an enquiry? I am no authority on the IPC, but I am sure a lot of laws were sidestepped before the dogs were let loose on the directors. Probably now there will be an enquiry which will be custom made to justify the verdict that has already been passed.

So if I go set fire to AIIMS will the Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and the rest of the hospital board be arrested and only then an enquiry will be ordered?

I am not supporting the case of the directors; I am just bringing to notice what the government has done. It has set precedence, a dangerous one at that. So from now on when there is failure on the governmental part, will the heads of the ministers roll? I would like to see that happen. Or is there a different set of laws governing aam admi and them?

People should also wake up and also demand the suspension or imprisonment of the railway minister where ever there is an accident or the transport minister when a pothole on the road causes a fatal accident. Is the Government willing to take decisive action then? Will the judiciary sidestep a lot of laws to bring the ministers to justice?

It time someone told the politicians to stop looking at everything as a political leverage and actually do the work they were supposed to do.