Gorakhpur hospital deaths not natural, oxygen supply was cut off, says BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj

Rejecting UP government’s claim, fire brand BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj on Saturday said that children including infants died in Gorakhpur’s BRD hospital because oxygen supply was cut-off over non-payment of dues.

He also demanded stringent action against culprits behind the heart-wrenching incident in Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital, where 33 children have died in 48 hours.

“The deaths which took place in a Gorakhpur hospital were very saddening. The person, who switched off the oxygen supply on the pretext of non-payment of dues, was responsible for the incident,” BJP MP Maharaj said.

Maharaj also quashed media reports that he called the incident a “massacre”.

“I have never said so. I said the deaths were not natural and steps should be taken to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future,” he said.

Read More | Gorakhpur hospital deaths full coverage

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh on Saturday claimed that the deaths didn’t take place due to oxygen supply cut off but medical complications.

The Chief Minister also said that deaths due to disruption of oxygen is a heinous act and the role of gas supplier firm is also being probed.

“Those responsible for the incident will not be spared,” Yogi said.

Oxygen supply firm has said that it is not the fault of the company as they have been supplying oxygen even after the credit limit has already exceeded.

“The fault is not ours. As per our agreement, credit limit cannot exceed Rs 10 lakh but despite this, we continued supplying oxygen till it reached about Rs 70 lakh. We also bought oxygen from another firm, which denied supply without advance payment. In such a situation how long could we have continued supplies?” said Deepankar Sharma, owner of oxygen supplier firm Pushpa Sales.