The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday arrested Dr Kafeel Khan who was removed from his post in the state-run hospital in Gorakhpur after 30 children died in two days last month, a senior official said.
It is the third arrest in the case, and six others, against whom non-bailable warrants were issued on Friday after their names figured in a first information report after the deaths, remain at large.
The Special Task Force had on August 29 arrested the former principal of the the BRD medical college, Rajiv Mishra, and his wife, Purnima Shukla, after their questioning and they were remanded to 14-day judicial custody on September 1.
"Yes, Dr Kafeel Khan has been arrested. He was arrested by the STF from outskirts of Gorakhpur," SSP Gorakhpur Anirudh Sidhartha Pankaj told PTI on Saturday.
Khan was the nodal officer of the 100-bed AES ward at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and was removed following the deaths on August 10 and August 11.
Police had earlier gone to Khan's residence to quiz him but did not find him there.
The warrants were issued against Khan, anaesthetist Dr Satish, pharmacist Gajanan Jaiswal, accountant Sudhir Pandey, assistant clerk Sanjay Kumar Tripathi and gas suppliers Uday Pratap Singh and Manish Bhandari.
Following the deaths, mostly of infants, cases were registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Medical Council Act.
The spate of deaths continued in BRD Medical College hospital with 13 more children dying in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 1,317 so far this year.
As many as 13 children, 10 in neo-natal intensive care unit and three in general paediatric ward died in the past 24 hours, the newly-appointed principal of the college Dr P K Singh said on Saturday.
No death was reported in the encephalitis ward during this period, Dr Singh said, adding that 53 new cases were admitted in the hospital.
Mishra was suspended as principal of the medical college on August 12 after the deaths were reported. He resigned the same day taking moral responsibility.
There were allegations that the deaths occurred due to disruption in oxygen supply as the vendor had not been paid for several months.
While the Uttar Pradesh government vehemently denied that shortage of oxygen led to the deaths, a high-powered probe committee headed by Chief Secretary Rajive Kumar indicted Mishra and others on charges of laxity among others.
Mishra was accused of sitting over the issue of payments to the vendor supplying oxygen gas to the hospital.
The doctor couple were booked on the basis of the report submitted to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath by the chief secretary.
Adityanath had formed the committee on August 12, a day after the deaths were reported.
The medical college attracted global attention when more than 60 children, mostly infants, died at the hospital within a week last month. The issue also acquired a political colour with the opposition attacking the government over it.
The Allahabad high court had also sought a 'detailed report' on the infrastructure and medical facilities at the medical college.
It directed the secretary of the Uttar Pradesh State Legal Services Authority to personally visit the medical college hospital and file a report along with photographs of various wards.
