New Delhi, May 26 (IANS): Following the death of seven newborn babies at a Delhi hospital, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken cognizance of the incident while a probe has also been initiated, an official said.

“The Commission has taken cognizance of the incident of fire in a hospital in Vivek Vihar area in Delhi and the death of newborn babies. A team of CrPC @NCPCR_ will visit the hospital today to investigate the incident. Official information will be shared after the team's visit,” said Priyank Kanoongo, NCPCR Chief on X.

Seven newly born babies died after a fire broke out in a baby care centre in Delhi’s Shahdara, police said on Sunday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary said that on Saturday at around 11:30 p.m. a Police Control Room (PCR) call regarding a fire at Baby Care NewBorn Hospital was received at Vivek Vihar police station, following which a police team rushed to the spot.

Upon reaching the spot, the fire was found in the hospital and its adjacent building.

“In the hospital, there were 12 newborn babies admitted and one was already dead before the fire incident. All the 12 newborn babies were rescued from the hospital with the help of other people and shifted to East Delhi Advance NICU Hospital, for treatment,” said the DCP.

The DCP said that fire tenders also reached the spot and doused the flames.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Chief Atul Garg said that seven children were declared dead at the hospital while five newly born babies are undergoing treatment.

“All 7 dead bodies have been further shifted to GTB Hospital for postmortem. Appropriate legal action is being taken against the owner of the hospital namely Naveen Kichi, a resident of Bhairon Enclave, Paschim Vihar, Delhi,” said the DCP.