SUM hospital fire: Owner Manoj Nayak on the run after public demands arrest

Founder of the SUM Hospital, Manoj Nayak is on fire as people are demanding his immediate arrest.

Author: India.com News Desk

Updated: October 19, 2016, 3:59 PM IST

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Bhubaneswar, Oct 19: After the deadly blaze that claimed lives of 22 innocent patients at SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar, the clamour to arrest its founder Manoj Nayak for negligence and violation of fire safety norms in the premises is on the run. Four officials of the SUM hospital have been arrested and four other employees have been suspended while the run for its owner’s arrest is growing day by day. The Director of Medical Education and Training, Prakash Chandra Mohapatra stated that the owner of the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospitals could be arrested.

“The police is taking action against the hospital authorities. We have filed FIR against the hospital management. The owner also comes under the management. Police may take action against him,” Mohapatra was quoted saying by PTI. Soon after the incident took place, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) level inquiry into the fire mishap. Later, Patnaik announced free medical treatment for patients and an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of those who died in the Sum Hospital fire.

Manoj Nayak, 56, the owner of the hospital is known to be a man with strong political connections. Nayak got into his first controversy in 2000 when authorities of the Odisha government’s Joint Entrance Examination that conducts entrance test to engineering colleges, lodged a case of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy against him and few others. As per reports, Nayak and his brother lured students who secured lower ranks in the Joint Entrance Examination, to take admission in engineering college.

Before establishing the SUM hospital in the outskirts of Bubhasneswar in 2006, Manoj, an engineer was known as a teacher in a government engineering college. As per reports, Nayak earned a B Tech degree in electrical sciences from the National Institute of Technology (formerly REC) in Rourkela in 1982 and also holds a PhD in computer science from IIT Kharagpur.(ALSO READ: Fire at SUM hospital in Bhubaneswar kills 22: Naveen Patnaik ordered Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) probe)

Later, Nayak joined Bhubaneswar’s College of Engineering Technology (CET) as a lecturer in computer science and while still teaching there, he established the Siksha O Anusandhan Trust and also founded Odisha’s first private, Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER). Under the Siksha O Anusandhan University, at least 10 institutions including a medical college, an engineering college, dental college, Biotechnology College, and nursing college among others function, but the official website of the University has no mention of Nayak’s name.(ALSO READ: 22 killed in Bhubaneswar hospital fire: BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy raps SUM authorities)

As per reports by Hindustan Times, police chargesheet mentioned that ITER made payment on behalf of these students so that the college could claim the seats were filled up. Even after his name mentioned in the chargesheet, Nayak avoided the arrest and managed to get a reprieve after the Odisha high court quashed the case a few years later.

Last year Nayak’s TV channel shot to popularity by airing a string video of Godman Sarathi Baba. Sarathi was later jailed for exploiting women and cheating people. Reports also state that Nayak is close to several influential ministers in the Naveen Patnaik ministry. Local channels reported that the wife of Odisha health minister even worked as a faculty in one of the educational institutions owned by Nayak.