Patients' kin go on rampage at AMRI, lathicharged

Chaos broke out on the premises of the AMRI Hospital where a fire broke out on Friday morning with families of patients vandalising the reception counter aggrieved that no list of the dead and injured was provided.

Hospital authorities have reportedly gone underground to evade arrest.

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Hundreds of family members of patients smashed glass panes at the reception and threw away hospital registers.

Some of the patients from the hospital were taken to the state-run SSKM Hospital, the police said.

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Police had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation.

Meanwhile, Public Health Engineering Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the state government will take strong action against the AMRI group for the death of patients.

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The state government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The fire which was suspected to have originated in the electrical department in the basement of the building swiftly spread, with the third floor and above being affected the most, fire brigade sources said.

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Fire Services Minister Javed Khan said the fire spread because of stocks of highly combustible material and though it was controlled the smoke was causing problems.

The hospital also did not have proper fire-fighting equipment, he said.

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