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NHRC sends notice to Rajasthan government over death of 100 children in Kota

Amid the row over deaths, Akhilesh says 1,000 children died in Gorakhpur hospitals

The Telegraph And PTI Lucknow Published 03.01.20, 01:39 PM
Infants undergo treatment at the J.K. Lone hospital, in Kota district, Thursday, January 2, 2020.

Infants undergo treatment at the J.K. Lone hospital, in Kota district, Thursday, January 2, 2020. PTI

The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Rajasthan government over the death of more than 100 infants at a state-run hospital in Kota in December, officials said on Friday.

The NHRC, in a statement, said it has issued a notice to the chief secretary, seeking a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.

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The commission said the notice was issued to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.

A political storm brewed after a BJP parliamentary committee visited the hospital and expressed concern over the its infrastructure. The MPs had said they had found two to three children on single beds and that the hospital did not have sufficient nurses.

A team was sent on Thursday by the Union health ministry to probe the spike in death cases. The ministry asked the panel to join the state government in carrying out a “gap analysis” of human resources and equipment, clinical protocols and paediatric services at J.K. Lone Hospital where around 100 children died in December 2019.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday that he had spoken with Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and assured him of all possible support. The minister said he had requested Gehlot to “assess the situation and take proactive steps to avoid these preventable child deaths”.

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights has also served a notice to the Congress government in the state.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the UP government, alleging that over a thousand infants have died in the past 12 months in Gorakhpur and questioned who was responsible for it.

Yadav said, 'Yogi Adityanath is worried about Kota deaths. When will he be worried about the Gorakhpur deaths'.

Yadav told a press conference here that the ailing children in Gorakhpur were suffering from encephalitis but were administered different medicines so that the truth did not come out that they were dying of encephalitis.

'Why wrong medicines were administered? Who is answerable? I will soon release a list of the dead children,' he said.

However, hours later, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma contested his claim.

'He (Akhilesh) needs to furnish evidence with the list and not level baseless allegations,' Sharma said at a press conference.

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