A 17-year-old inmate of a government-funded Baruipur home for mentally challenged boys died of malnutrition on Sunday night.

Most of the 31 remaining inmates of Jatio Jorodhi Sansad are suffering from malnutrition. One of them has gone blind and some are losing their eyesight, said employees of the home and residents of the area.

Sarat, the teenager, was admitted to Baruipur Sub-divisional Hospital hours before he died. The death certificate stated “cardio-respiratory failure in a case of chronic malnutrition with acute gastroenteritis” as the cause.

Two other boys had recently died of malnutrition at Sansad, alleged residents. Inmates said they were being given poor quality food in inadequate amount.

Ranadeb, 15, was sighted when he came to the home three years ago. “Now he cannot see at all and has contracted other diseases. A number of boys of the home are gradually losing vision,” said Suchitra Haldar, a caretaker at the home.

Tripti Mitra, the founder of the home, denied the allegations. “Sarat had been ailing for a long time. Residents are cooking up stories to malign the home. We used to get funds from the central government but that was stopped long ago. The help we get from the state government is irregular. We are running the home with great hardship,” she said.

Social welfare minister Biswanath Chowdhury said it was implausible that children could not be given food because of delay in receipt of government funds.

Local CPM legislator Rahul Ghosh visited the home and was shocked by what he saw. “I am sending a report to the district magistrate for taking necessary steps,” he said.