A political storm has erupted after it came to light that 14 deaths, 13 adults and one minor, were reported in July 2024 at Asha Kiran, the Delhi government's home for the mentally challenged in Rohini.
Asha Kiran facility falls under the Social Welfare Department, which department is currently "headless" following the resignation of Raaj Kumar Anand. Delhi Revenue Minister Atishi said the guilty will not be spared if any negligence is found in connection to the running of the institution. Meanwhile, The Delhi Lieutenant Governor on Friday sought a report within a week. As things stand, here are the latest developments about the Asha Kiran deaths that have rocked Delhi:
1. Minister Atishi said out of late 14 inmates, some had comorbidities. "Some of those who succumbed were hospitalised in June. What I am saying is that their deaths need to be medically examined also," she told the press. The autopsy of the late patients is not completed yet.
2. Meanwhile, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said most of the women who died in the Asha Kiran Shelter home were under 40 years of age. The facility can only accommodate 250 people at a time, but as many as 450 people were staying there sans proper food, water and medication, news agency PTI quoted the NCW chairperson as saying.
3. Levelling further allegations of mismanagement, Rekha Sharma said, "... prima facie is water is contaminated, no filter facility is there...Most of them have died due to diarrhoea... No toilet facility is there...I have demanded the papers...There is no register for entry and exit...No biometric attendance is there...The staff present here are untrained and unregulated...They are getting on-the-job training... I will submit my report also to the Central government..."
#WATCH | Deaths at Asha Kiran shelter home in Delhi | National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma says, "Several death cases have been reported here and the prima facie is water is contaminated, no filter facility is there...Most of them have died due to… pic.twitter.com/rJiYRfNMV8
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2024
4. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has asked a white paper on the running of all shelter homes run by the Social Welfare Department, Women and Child Department and DUSIB, including expenditure, facilities, number of inmates, and medical facilities available be prepared and submitted within three weeks, he demanded.
#WATCH | Deaths at Asha Kiran shelter home in Delhi | NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo says, "We have come to know about this. I have spoken with the officers concerned in Delhi Government's Department of Women and Child… pic.twitter.com/k3bWKXRVVf
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2024
5. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also taken note of the incident. According to its chairperson Priyank Kanoongo, the body will go through the medical reports and autopsy to learn more about the demise of the minor victim. "We are issuing notice to Delhi government to make the postmortem report, medical reports and other details available to us... NCPCR has made a portal, a monitoring app and we have given its access to the Delhi government. They are requested to upload reports of inspections of Children's Homes in Delhi. Unfortunately, the Delhi Government is indifferent regarding the inspection of Children's Homes. They don't do inspections. If they don't do it, there will be irregularities and such incidents will keep happening..."
