Allahabad high court has labelled the death of covid 19 patients due to lack of oxygen as “a criminal act, nothing less than genocide”. The court was hearing a suo motto case in relation to coronavirus crisis in Uttar Pradesh.
The bench of justices Ajit Kumar and Siddhartha Varma also ordered an inquiry into the incidences of deaths reported from Meerut and Lucknow hospitals. “The news was also viralled that five patients had died in ICU of a new trauma centre of Medical College, Meerut on Sunday last. Similarly, news were also being viralled that one Sun Hospital, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow and another private hospital at Meerut had taken their hands off the admitted Covid patients only for the reason that oxygen supply was not made even after demand. We are at pain in observing that death of Covid patients just for non supplying of oxygen to the hospitals is a criminal act and not less than a genocide by those who have been entrusted the task to ensure continuous procurement and supply chain of the liquid medical oxygen,” the bench said.