Two days after a fire at a hospital killed 12 patients in Odisha’s Cuttack, the state government on Wednesday suspended four officials for alleged negligence in carrying out their work, reported The Indian Express.

The officials were suspended on the basis of the findings of an inter-departmental fact-finding committee headed by development commissioner DK Singh.

The disciplinary action was taken even as investigations are ongoing to ascertain the lapses that led to the fire, reported The Hindu.

The fire broke out at about 3 am on Monday in the trauma care intensive care unit of the Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. SCB Medical College and Hospital is the largest government healthcare facility in Odisha.

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While the exact cause of the fire has not been confirmed, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had said it may have been triggered by a short circuit.

The officials suspended on Wednesday are Deputy Fire Officer Prakash Kumar Jena, Assistant Fire Officer of Cuttack Circle Sanjeeb Behera, Station Officer of SCB Medical College Abhinab Prusty and Ranjan Kumar Biswal, the assistant executive engineer of the general electrical division, SCB division, according to The Indian Express.

The action came against the backdrop of the Opposition Biju Janata Dal and Congress demanding the resignation of Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling.

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The Odisha government has also ordered a judicial inquiry into the blaze.

Majhi had on Monday announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the families of each of those who died.

The chief minister had told reporters that around 23 patients were admitted to the trauma intensive care unit and an adjacent intensive care unit at the time of the fire.

Many of them were on a ventilator and oxygen support, making it difficult to shift them quickly after the blaze began.