Tensions escalated at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital as confrontations broke out between doctors and police.
CM Maryam Nawaz scrutinized all investigative reports and CCTV recordings linked to the event personally.
A heavy contingent of police can be seen in video footage entering the hospital premises and beating up staff before they arrest the main accused.
Watch the videos here:
Punjab’s CM chastised health department officials, stressed the necessity of accountability, and encouraged them to sympathize with the bereaved families of the children.
Investigations disclosed that the hospital’s fire extinguishers had expired in April and were not replaced despite prior warnings.
A private news channel indicated that fire extinguishers were regarded more as ornamental than functional, and were not used during emergencies.
Authorities detained Principal Medical College Imran Hasan, MS Teaching Hospital Akhtar Mehboob, Dr. Umar, and Dr. Usman, encountering resistance from the medical staff.
This led to police deploying batons against the protesting doctors before successfully detaining the four implicated officials.
The fire at Shiwal teaching hospital
On June 9 a devastating fire broke out in the pediatric medicine ward of Sahiwal Teaching Hospital (STH) on Saturday morning due to a short circuit in the air conditioning system.
11 infants who were in critical condition due to the blaze, died over a period of a week while 74 were rescued by parents, hospital staff, security personnel, and Rescue 1122 teams.
The building’s condition was being assessed, and an estimated millions of rupees worth of pediatric medical equipment were destroyed in the fire.
