The Indian Medical Association on Sunday said suspending only Rajeev Mishra, the principal of the Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Hospital in Gorakhpur district, was wrong as the deaths of 63 children at the institute was an administrative failure, reported ANI.

“The suspension of only the principal is completely wrong,” IMA President KK Aggarwal said. “It is an administrative failure. Everyone should be held accountable. If you are suspending him, then suspend the local administration, too, and ban the company.”

The Uttar Pradesh government had suspended Mishra on Saturday. He had later resigned, taking “moral responsibility” for the deaths of the children admitted to the hospital’s pediatric ward. PK Singh, the principal of Rajkiya Medical College in Ambedkar Nagar, was given the additional charge of BRD Medical College and Hospital.

Aggarwal said the medical association had passed three resolutions over the incident. “The first resolution is that the community and medical fraternity needs to know the reason, that is, if it is due to disruption of oxygen,” he said. “Secondly, the suspension of only the principal is outright wrong. Third and last, the practice of delaying payments in the healthcare sector should be prohibited.”

Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati on Sunday had said Mishra had been made a scapegoat in the case, reported PTI. “By making the college principal a scapegoat, the state government is trying to absolve itself of all responsibility,” Mayawati said.