Observing the deaths of 12 inmates within a month at a shelter home in Rohini as 'negligence on the part of the authorities', he National Human Rights Commission India (NHRC) on Saturday issued notices to the chief secretary of the Delhi government and the commissioner of police and has sought a detailed report in four weeks.
The NHRC has also taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that 12 inmates died between July 15 and July 31 at the Delhi government-run shelter home — Asha Kiran — for people with mental impairment. The commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violations of human rights of inmates at the reportedly overcrowded shelter home. It is expected to include the status of the FIR in the matter, action taken against officials or officers responsible, and steps taken or proposed by authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur, it said.
Reportedly, they included 10 women and two men. Their symptoms were similar that is loose motion and vomiting. Several other inmates are reportedly undergoing treatment at a hospital, the commission said. According to data from the medical care unit of the shelter home, in July, 54 inmates were sent outside the facility for treatment. This has "caused alarm and revived allegations of neglect and poor living conditions" at the shelter home, it added.
Reportedly, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had red flagged the functioning of this shelter home in its 2015 report. It was observed that the facility was over-burdened, ill-equipped for medical emergencies and short on staff. The report highlighted that a total of 148 deaths had occurred during 2009-14.
