At least five children died and 30 more fell ill at a children’s home in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, over the past three days, district officials said on July 2.
All the deceased children are under 14 and were residing at the Bal Ashram of Shri Yugpurush Dham in the Malharganj police station area of the city. While the cause is yet to be officially ascertained, an official said food poisoning is suspected in four cases.
Indore District Magistrate Asheesh Singh said that the food was prepared in the kitchen of the children’s home and samples have been collected and sent for examination to the government laboratory in Bhopal as well as to a private lab.
“The first death was reported the day before yesterday (on June 30), and the other children had not developed symptoms until then. Prima facie, four deaths happened due to this infection, which we are investigating. The child who died on June 30 and the other children did not display the same symptoms,” he told reporters at the children’s home.
Vomiting, seizures
“Out of five deaths, the symptoms of four were different from the remaining child,” Mr. Singh said, adding that four children suffered vomiting and diarrhoea, while the child who died on June 30 had seizures.
Mr. Singh said that 30 children are currently under-treatment.
The district administration has removed Malharganj SDM, Omprakash Narayan Badkul, from his post.
The action came after a video showing Mr. Badkul and the manager of the children’s home, Anita Sharma, laughing during an inspection after the deaths went viral on the internet.
“The video and photo came to our attention. Government officials must be sensitive, and this should reflect in their expressions and work,” said Mr. Singh.
Meanwhile, an inquiry committee led by Additional District Magistrate Gaurav Bainal has been formed.
The children’s home which houses more than 200 orphans and children dealing with mental illness, wrote to the district Child Welfare Committee, claiming that 10 children have been diagnosed with an infection in their blood.
“The children had vomiting and diarrhoea, for which they were admitted to the hospital. Their condition is not very serious,” the letter dated July 2 read.
Food was safe
Ms. Sharma, speaking to reporters, claimed that there was nothing wrong with the food and that the investigation by the food department would confirm the same.
Meanwhile, State Chief Minister Mohan Yadav took to X to condole the deaths.
“The untimely demise of these four innocent children is heart-breaking. I pray to Baba Mahakal to grant peace to the souls of the departed children and for the speedy recovery of all the seriously ill children,” he said.
“Cabinet colleague Tulsi Silawat ji is reaching the spot. A high-level committee has been formed to investigate this tragic incident and the Malharganj SDM has been removed for his insensitive behaviour,” the CM added.
