Registering case against Minister 'strange': CPI

Thiruvananthapuram, May 4 (UNI) The Communist Party of India (CPI) today said the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's direction to register a case against the State Health Minister P K Sreemathy in connection with the alleged deaths of new born babies at the state-run hospital in the capital was ''quite strange.'' In a statement here, CPI State Secretary Veliyam Bharghavan said it may be for the first time in the country that a case was registered under sections IPC 304 and 34, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, against the concerned Minister, who had no direct connection with the day-to-day activities of the department.

Action should be taken against those who were responsible for the day-to-day activities of the hospital for dereliction of duty.

Stating that the incident of new born deaths was quite unfortunate, the CPI leader said immediate effective measures should be adopted so that such things did not recur.

UNI