Asha Kiran’s shelter home in Delhi is contending with a series of mysterious deaths; in the latest incident, 14 of the residents died in the last 20 days. This makes the death toll at the government-operated institution for the specially-abled to reach 27 since this year, January to be precise.
Preliminary findings of a sub-divisional magistrate’s inquiry revealed that the victims are a 14-15-year-old juvenile and 13 other adults who are over the age of 20 years.
Surprisingly, 13 people died between July 15 and July 31, of which of them were 8 females and 5 males. Another death was also recorded in the period between July 1 and July 15.
Despite the uncertainty regarding the cause of deaths, the veracity provided by the SDM’s report has led to concern over the quality of the drinking water prisoners are being supplied.
The official observed that the final death toll was higher than the previous year; however, acknowledging that the actual causes could only be gotten after an autopsy had been conducted.
The shocking disclosures have not been allowed to go without proper responses with the National Commission for Women (NCW) having dispatched a team to the shelter home.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma immediately attacked the AAP government, saying that it had been negligent and that the Asha Kiran home had lost all ‘asha’.
The Opposition has not been left behind, while the BJP has also waded in; a team was dispatched to the shelter home, with some of them claiming that basic amenities are being withheld. Thus, Delhi minister Gopal Rai blamed the BJP for selective sensitivity and promised that the culprits would be punished.
Thus, as the probe goes on, the police and other agencies responsible for the defective shelters must step up their response to avoid more people dying at the Asha Kiran shelter home.
