Three newborns die in fire at RIMS Adilabad care unit

Three infants died and two others are in critical condition after a fire broke out around 11.40 pm on Monday at the Special Newborn Care Unit of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Adilabad, hospital authorities said. A short circuit in a window air-conditioner is suspected. Officials said 22 newborns were evacuated safely. Police booked a case under Section 194 of the BNSS, and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordered an inquiry.

Written by AI from Times of India — Hyderabad · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 23 Sept 2026, 1:34 am IST

Source

Times of India — Hyderabad · read the original report ↗

#hospital fire#rims adilabad#newborn deaths#telangana#inquiry

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Three infants died and two others are critical after a fire at the SNCU of RIMS Adilabad late Monday night. — Attributed to hospital authorities in the source; figures appear consistently in the text.
The fire is suspected to have been caused by an electrical short circuit in a window AC around 11.40 pm. — Presented as a preliminary-probe suspicion, not a confirmed cause; source states exact cause is yet to be established.
22 remaining newborns were evacuated safely and are stable. — Attributed to officials and DM&HO Dr P Sadhana; note the source elsewhere says 23 were in the SNCU and 27 newborns were present, an internal inconsistency in numbers.
Police booked a case of unnatural or suspicious death under Section 194 of the BNSS. — Attributed to Adilabad police via initial probe; figure and section appear in source.
Families of the deceased belonged to Utnoor, Ichoda and Indravelli mandals, described in the source as in Nizamabad. — Source states this, though those mandals are named as Adilabad-area locations elsewhere in the text; unverified and internally inconsistent.

Written by AI from Times of India — Hyderabad · not yet reviewed by an editor · How we use AI · Report an error

Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The RIMS Adilabad fire is not merely a hospital accident — it is a politically combustible question about how the state runs its public health infrastructure. Because the victims are newborns, the emotional weight falls squarely on the health department and, by extension, on the government. The speed of the response — Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy ordering an inquiry, Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha visiting the ward and announcing an expert committee plus three safety audits — signals that damage control began almost immediately.

The officials' own account — that the AC was repaired about a week ago, that Rs 1 crore was sanctioned for AC works, and that a meeting on replacing the ACs was scheduled later this month — hands critics the sharpest line: the money existed, the action came too late.
Announcing fresh electrical, fire and structural audits while also stating that safety audits had already been conducted invites questions about the rigour of those earlier audits.
The police case under Section 194 of the BNSS for unnatural death starts a formal accountability track; whether it stops at staff level or reaches administrative levels is the politically decisive detail.
With the families coming from Utnoor, Ichoda and Indravelli, the story underlines how dependent agency-area residents are on government hospitals, which can fuel a wider charge of regional neglect.
The safe evacuation of 22 newborns and the containment of the fire give the government something to point to, but that defence is limited against the gravity of three deaths.

What to watch — Watch how quickly and how publicly the expert committee reports, where it places responsibility, and whether the response stays confined to RIMS or expands into a state-wide hospital safety audit.

The cause of the fire is not yet established — the short circuit remains a suspicion — and the story does not establish whose negligence, if any, was responsible, nor does it record any opposition reaction.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 7 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

A fire broke out late on Monday night in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a government teaching hospital in Adilabad, Telangana. Three extremely preterm girl infants died, suspected due to asphyxiation from smoke and toxic fumes after plastic in a window air-conditioner burnt; two more infants are critical. Police registered a case of unnatural or suspicious death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Telangana Chief Minister ordered an inquiry while the Health Minister announced an expert committee and three safety audits.

Key facts

Three infants, including a two-day-old and a five-day-old, died after the fire at the SNCU of RIMS Adilabad; two injured infants remain critical, one on ventilator and one on oxygen support.
The fire broke out around 11.40 pm on Monday when 27 newborns and their attendants were inside; 23 children were in the SNCU and four in a nearby ward.
22 newborns were safely evacuated and are stable, shifted either to nearby private hospitals or treated at RIMS.
Suspected cause: an electrical short circuit in a window air-conditioner; the ward filled with smoke as the AC's plastic burnt.
Station fire officer D Jayatram said the fire was contained by 3 am.
Two deceased infants were born at 28 weeks weighing about 1.3 kg each; the third, 15 days old, was born at 25 weeks and weighed about 1 kg. All three were girls.
Adilabad police booked a case of unnatural or suspicious death under Section 194 of the BNSS.
Officials said around Rs 5 crore had been spent on hospital works and Rs 1 crore sanctioned for AC-related works; a meeting to discuss replacing existing ACs was scheduled later this month.

Timeline

About a week before the incidentA reported problem with the air-conditioner at the SNCU was repaired, health officials said.
Monday, around 11.40 pmFire breaks out in the SNCU with 27 newborns and attendants inside; suspected short circuit in a window AC.
Within an hour of the incidentOne newborn dies.
Early hours of TuesdayTwo more infants die while undergoing treatment at GGH Nizamabad and at RIMS respectively.
By 3 amFire contained, according to the Adilabad station fire officer.
TuesdayPolice book a case under Section 194 BNSS; CM A Revanth Reddy orders an inquiry; Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha visits the ward and announces an expert committee and three safety audits.
Later this month (scheduled)Meeting to discuss replacing the existing ACs with new ones.

Who has a stake

Families of the deceased infants — Lost newborn daughters; families are from Utnoor, Ichoda and Indravelli mandals, described in the source as of Nizamabad.
RIMS Adilabad administration — Faces scrutiny over maintenance, monitoring and implementation of safety standards in the newborn care unit.
Telangana government (CM A Revanth Reddy) — Ordered an inquiry and a report on the cause of the fire; accountability for public hospital safety.
Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha — Announced an expert committee and electrical, fire and civil structural audits; promised strict action for negligence or lapses.
Adilabad police — Investigating the case registered under Section 194 BNSS for unnatural or suspicious death.
Dr P Sadhana, District Medical & Health Officer, Adilabad — Overseeing monitoring and oxygen support for the rescued newborns.
Adilabad fire services (SFO D Jayatram) — Contained the fire by 3 am; role in emergency response and fire safety compliance.

Why it matters

Special Newborn Care Units house the most fragile patients in the public health system — preterm, low-birth-weight babies who cannot be moved quickly and are highly vulnerable to smoke and toxic fumes. The Adilabad fire, traced to a suspected short circuit in a window AC that had reportedly been repaired only a week earlier, points to gaps between paper safety audits and actual electrical maintenance in district-level government hospitals. The response — an expert committee plus electrical, fire and civil structural audits — will be a test of whether such incidents lead to systemic fixes or remain one-off inquiries.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU): facility for sick and preterm newborns; the Adilabad SNCU had 23 children at the time of the fire.
Section 194 of the BNSS deals with cases of unnatural or suspicious death — invoked by Adilabad police here.
RIMS, Adilabad is a Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences government hospital in Telangana.
Three types of safety audits announced at RIMS: electrical, fire and civil structural.
Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy ordered the inquiry; Health Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha announced the expert committee.
Rs 5 crore reportedly spent on hospital works; Rs 1 crore sanctioned for AC-related works at RIMS.

Mains framing

The Adilabad RIMS fire illustrates how routine infrastructure failures become fatal in high-dependency healthcare spaces. The immediate trigger was a suspected short circuit in a window air-conditioner whose plastic burnt and rapidly filled the ward with smoke; the victims were extreme preterm girls weighing 1–1.3 kg, born at 25–28 weeks, who were already too weak to withstand smoke or toxic-fume inhalation. Contributing factors visible in the source include a reported AC fault repaired about a week earlier, pending replacement of existing ACs (a meeting was only scheduled later this month despite Rs 1 crore sanctioned for AC works), and the presence of 27 newborns with attendants in a unit where evacuation is inherently slow. That fire and electrical audits had reportedly been conducted raises the question of audit quality and follow-up action rather than mere compliance. The stated way forward — an expert committee examining causes, safety lapses and maintenance failures, three audits (electrical, fire, civil structural), proposals for repairs, additional infrastructure, renovation, new construction and recruitment of additional staff, and strict action for negligence — needs time-bound implementation, preventive maintenance schedules for electrical equipment, and evacuation drills tailored to neonatal units if similar tragedies are to be avoided.

Key terms

SNCU (Special Newborn Care Unit): Hospital unit for the care of sick and premature newborns, where the Adilabad fire occurred.
RIMS: Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, the government hospital in Adilabad, Telangana, at the centre of the incident.
Section 194, BNSS: Provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita under which police registered the case of unnatural or suspicious death.
Extreme preterm infant: Baby born very early in gestation; the three who died were born at 25 and 28 weeks, weighing about 1–1.3 kg.
Asphyxiation: Death from lack of oxygen; suspected cause of the three deaths after smoke and toxic-fume inhalation.
Safety audit (electrical, fire, civil structural): Three inspections announced at RIMS to assess wiring, fire risk and building safety.

Practice questions

Fires in neonatal and intensive care units of government hospitals recur despite mandated safety audits. Examine the institutional and maintenance failures involved and suggest measures to make such audits effective.
Discuss the challenges of ensuring emergency preparedness and evacuation in high-dependency hospital units such as Special Newborn Care Units.
What accountability mechanisms follow a case registered under Section 194 of the BNSS, and how do departmental inquiry committees complement or hinder criminal investigation in cases of institutional negligence?

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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