LUCKNOW: After granting bail to Dr Kafeel Ahmad Khan, an accused in Gorakhpur tragedy involving death of over two dozen children in a span of 24 hours, the Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected the bail plea of former principal of Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Dr Rajiv Mishra, who is also one of the nine accused of the tragedy which had taken place last year.
Dr Mishra, lodged in Gorakhpur jail for the last eight months, has been charged under sections 409 (criminal conspiracy), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 120B of IPC besides
section 7/13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Declining the bail to Dr Mishra, a division bench comprising, Justice Ramesh Sihna and Justice D K Singh said: “The order for the release of the petitioner on bail cannot be passed in the present facts and circumstances of the matter.”
Dr Mishra's plea was asked on the fact that he languishing in the jail for around eight months while his co-accused were being granted bail in the same case.
However, opposing the bail application, the state counsel pleaded that “the case is a very serious one and that the petitioner had an alleged role in the disruption of oxygen supply on he fateful night."
He further submitted that “the petitioner had stopped payment to the company which used to supply oxygen for getting illegal kickbacks (commission). As a result, the company stopped oxygen supply and which resulted into the tragic death of several children in the hospital. Hence, he does not deserved to be released on bail”.
An FIR was registered on August 23, 2017, against nine persons, including Dr Mishra, in connection with the death of 30 children at the medical college on August 10 and 11, 2017 allegedly due to disruption in oxygen supply. It was transferred to Gorakhpur on the evening of August 24.
Among the nine accused, the high court has granted bail to Manish Bhandari, director of the oxygen supplier company Pushpa Sales and Dr Kafeel Khan.