The Delhi government on Friday ordered an inquiry into the death of at least 12 persons at Asha Kiran, a residential institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities, allegedly due to malnutrition and health problems, ANI reported.
Delhi Revenue Minister Atishi sought a report on the magisterial inquiry to be submitted within 48 hours. She also sought recommendations on the action to be taken against persons “whose negligence has caused the deaths” and suggestions on measures to prevent such incidents from taking place again.
The action came following a report by The Times of India on Friday.
Twelve persons, mostly women, residing at the psychiatric facility in Delhi’s Rohini area died between July 15 and July 31, the newspaper reported quoting unidentified officials and citing documents. Only one death was reported in the first 15 days of July.
The symptoms of the patients, diarrhoea and vomiting, were similar as the toll increased, the newspaper reported. Several other patients are being treated at a nearby hospital.
According to Atishi, the deaths indicated the lack of requisite facilities for those residing at Asha Kiran. “It is very shocking to hear such bad news in the capital city of Delhi and we cannot tolerate such kind of lapses, if found true,” she said.
The minister also said that 14 persons had died at Asha Kiran, operated by the Delhi government’s social welfare department, since January 2024.
Anjali Sehrawat, the director of the department, acknowledged that there was a surge in deaths at the facility. “There has been a surge in the deaths of inmates but that can be attributed to multiple things,” Sehrawat told The Times of India.
However, she denied that the toll was as high as 12 in the last 15 days of July. She did not provide an alternative figure.
The official said that an investigation was launched after complaints regarding the symptoms increased after July 15. “However, it has to be kept in mind that it was quite humid and hot in the last week and the inmates are suffering from severe illnesses,” she was quoted as saying.
The facility, which started functioning in 1989, has 1,000 residents instead of its capacity of 500 persons, according to the newspaper.
On Friday, National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma said that she was sending a team to inquire into the matter.
Sharma criticised the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government saying that the facility it operated had become a “death trap for innocent people”.
“@AtishiAAP should be made responsible for contaminated water they [residents] are being provided,” Sharma said in a social media post.
In February 2017, the Delhi Commission for Women decried 11 deaths that had taken place within two months at Asha Kiran. The revelation came after Swati Maliwal, the chief of the panel at the time, and other staff carried out a surprise inspection at the facility, where they said they were “disturbed” by its inhumane living conditions.
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