A day after the fire at MS Ramaiah hospital in Bengaluru, the family of a 34-year-old patient alleged he had died in the fire. Following this, a police complaint has been lodged at Sadashivnagar police station. The patient, identified as Panicker Sujay Sujathan, had been admitted for treating pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and H1N1 treatment on September 1. 

The fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, started around 1 pm on September 19 in the first-floor Critical Care Unit. Hospital staff moved out the three patients who were inside the CCU and alerted authorities. The hospital had also claimed there were no casualties from the fire and that some nurses had sustained minor injuries.

But in a video that has gone viral, Sujay’s wife, Rohini Jayan, has accused the hospital of negligence that led to the fire, but also that they had failed to evacuate her husband on time.

An FIR has been registered at the Sadashivanagar police against the hospital under BNS Section 106 for causing death due to negligence.

Shekhar H Tekkannavar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), confirmed the death. 

According to Sujay’s father, Sujathan, his son's condition had been improving, and Sujay wanted to be discharged from the hospital. His father alleged that there was no staff available to assist Sujay during the critical time, leading to his death. Sujay was declared dead around 4.30 pm. 

“At 1.05 pm, the CCU ward caught fire, and there was smoke everywhere. When we enquired, the staff told us that all patients were safe, and all of us were told to go outside. It was only at 1.50 pm that all patients were shifted... There was no staff to help him, and so he died,” Sujathan said.

Following Rohini Jayan's complaint, authorities have launched an investigation into the hospital's role in the incident.