4 kids’ death at Rajkiya Bal Grih: HC asks state govt to file affidavit

Children, particularly infants brought to the children’s home, should first be taken to the hospital for a proper check-up, suggests health department team that inspected the shelter home

LUCKNOW The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on Friday asked the state government to file an affidavit apprising it about the reasons for the death of four children at the Rajkiya Bal Grih, steps taken to ensure proper care of inmates and to prevent such incidents in future.

Four infants, who were brought to the Rajkiya Bal Grih in December last year, died of ill-health between February 10 and 14. (Pic for representation)

A division bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on a PIL filed by lawyer Santosh Srivastava.

The order was yet to be uploaded on the high court’s website.

“The court has taken serious note of death of four children at the Rajkiya Bal Grih (Prag Narain road). It has ordered the state government to file affidavit stating reasons for the deaths,” said lawyer Santosh Srivastava.

“The court has also directed the state government to inform about steps being taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur and to apprise it about steps taken to ensure proper care of children at the shelter home,” he said.

Four infants, who were brought into the city’s Rajkiya Bal Grih in December last year, died of ill-health between February 10 and 14. Authorities at the government children’s home claimed that the infants had arrived in poor health, and their condition worsened through the winters.

The chief medical officer’s team, which inspected the home, claimed that authorities had not provided adequate care to the children during December and January, which may have been the cause of death.

Children, particularly infants brought to the children’s home, should first be taken to the hospital for a proper check-up, suggested the health department team that inspected the facility at the Rajkiya Bal Grih on Prag Narain Road, where death of four infants was reported between February 10 and 14.

“If children are brought here with poor health, they should first be sent to hospital. It should be decided whether the child needs hospital care or is healthy enough to stay in the children’s home,” the two-member committee mentioned in its report on Friday.

The committee members had visited the children’s home on Thursday, met the staff and took stock of the facilities there, including the two wards and medical team that worked there.