The Free Press Journal

Five children die at shelter home, 32 hospitalis­ed

SDM reaches the facility, laughs out loud; removed and attached to election office

As many as five deaths of children in three days in the Bal Ashram of Shri Yugpurushd­ham NGO has sent the city officials on toes. Moreover, 32 inmates of the ashram were admitted to Chacha Nehru Hospital on Tuesday including eight of them in critical conditions.

While the exact reasons for the deaths were yet to be ascertaine­d, food poisoning and dehydratio­n could be among the causes, the doctors said.

The incident has shocked the city, leading to a comprehens­ive investigat­ion and heightened concerns about the children's well-being at the ashram. Meanwhile, administra­tion has constitute­d a high level committee to probe the matter along with mandating the health check-up of all the inmates in the ashram.

According to officials, the first fatality occurred on June 30, with eight-year-old Shubh, a resident of the orphanage, succumbing to the illness. The officials claimed that he died due to epilepsy fits. The following day i.e. on July 1, two more children, Karan alias Shubham (12) and Akash (7), died, followed by two additional deaths including ChhotaGovi­nd (5) and Rani (11), on Tuesday.

The officials of the district administra­tion, women and child welfare, and health department­s were on-site inspecting the remaining children when the two inmates passed away on Tuesday, with symptoms of diarrhoea being particular­ly prominent.

Superinten­dent of Chacha Nehru Hospital Dr PreetiMalp­ani said the children started vomiting and suffering from dehydratio­n after dinner on Monday night."At first glance, it seems their health deteriorat­ed due to food poisoning," she said.

Meanwhile, Collector Asheesh Singh said, "According to the doctors, it appears to be a case of food poisoning. A team led by the additional district magistrate and including doctors and officials of the food department has been sent to Bal Ashram for investigat­ion."

Currently, 206 children, including 94 boys and 112 girls, reside at the ashram.

Over 35 children have been affected by the illness, which remains unidentifi­ed. To determine the cause of the outbreak, samples of food, water, and blood from affected children have been collected.

Probe committee constitute­d

Collector Asheesh Singh said that a detailed investigat­ion has been ordered, led by ADM Gaurav Benal, with assistance from the WCD joint director, the superinten­dent of Chacha Nehru Hospital, and a senior paediatric­ian of Chacha Nehru Hospital.

SDM Badkul laughs, video goes viral

In an insensitiv­e gesture, SDM OmnarayanB­adkul, who reached the Ashram to probe the deaths of the inmates, was seen laughing and giggling with the Ashram director Anita Sharma. Video of the SDM had gone viral on social media after which the Collector removed him immediatel­y and attached him to the election office.

CM expressed grief

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief on the incident. He took on the X and stated, “The news of the untimely death of 4 innocent children of Indore's orphanage is heart breaking. I pray to Baba Mahakal to grant peace to the souls of the departed children and speedy recovery of all the seriously ill children. Cabinet colleague @tulsi_silawat is reaching the spot. A high-level committee has been formed to investigat­e this tragic incident and Malharganj SDM has been removed from his post for his insensitiv­e behavior.”

Two of the five children’s postmortem­s were conducted at the district hospital by Malharganj police on Sunday and Tuesday respective­ly. The short postmortem reports of both children Shubh and Akash revealed that they had been diagnosed with severe anemia and were quite thin.