Dumka, Jan. 8: The district administration could be in trouble for not taking cognisance of a child’s death in an orphanage here and the alleged mismanagement at the private institution.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is likely to recommend punishment of officials concerned — including Dumka deputy commissioner Mastram Meena — for suppressing facts under political pressure. A two-member team from NHRC, New Delhi, arrived at Dumka this morning to look into the matter.

Uma Orphanage — a registered NGO run by influential JMM functionary Krishna Singh — gained notoriety for alleged unlawful activities after Narayan Soren (11) was found dead on the premises on August 14. The circumstances surrounding the death were mysterious. Autopsy indicated death due to starvation but the authorities concerned did not send the viscera for further clinical tests.

On August 29, several inmates between 5 and 13 years ran away from the orphanage allegedly to save themselves from Singh and his men. CPM functionary Aheytsam Ahmad gave shelter to the children and raised his voice against the atrocities. NGOs in Dumka joined Ahmad but the district administration, reportedly under political pressure, did not register an FIR against the orphanage management.

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) had conducted an inquiry into the issue and claimed to have found large-scale irregularities at Uma Orphanage. “Narayan was beaten to death as he used to protest against the actions of Singh and his men. He was not given food for several days. Other inmates in the orphanage who protested also had to face the ire of Singh,” said Father Soloman, the convener of PUCL’s inquiry committee.

NHRC got involved with the issue after a request from PUCL and NGO Bal Shoshan Birodhi Samiti. PUCL and the NGO claimed that their appeals to the district administration fell on deaf ears. NHRC members H.C. Mishra and S.K.S. Bansal visited the orphanage to probe the case.

“We repeated before the members of the NHRC team what we had mentioned in a memorandum submitted earlier,” said Ericson Hansdak of the Bal Shoshan Birodhi Samiti. He said they demanded arrests of culprits, blacklisting the orphanage, action against the erring district officials and an inquiry into the assets of the orphanage.

District secretary of PUCL Arvind Verma also briefed the NHRC team to take appropriate action against the officials who helped Singh.