Silchar, Nov. 7: A three-year-old child allegedly died of a vitamin A overdose in a Cachar village yesterday.

The incident in Ganirgram village, Part IV, in Cachar’s Kathigorah block marred the otherwise successful weeklong campaign, between 30 October and 5 November, by the Assam branch of the National Rural Health Mission where children were given vitamin A supplement as a part of the campaign.

District magistrate Gautam Ganguli has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of Abdus Samad, the victim. Kathigorah circle officer Debashis Baisha will conduct the probe.

The officials at the joint director’s office of the health directorate here said the child died of a “drug overdose”, administered by the health workers on the children who attended the health rally. The family members of Samad alleged that more than a spoonful of vitamin A was administered to some children, causing them to fall sick.

In the rally, infants in the age group of nine months to one year were given half a spoon of the vitamin supplement and children in the age group of one to five years were administered one spoonful of the same.

It has been confirmed that the health workers, under the office of the joint director, health services, at times, exhibited over-enthusiasm and gave an overdose of the vitamin to the children.

Sources said Samad was first admitted to Ganirgram health centre on Tuesday, but as his condition took a critical turn, he was shifted to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday where he died.

This is the second case of children falling sick after being administered vitamin A in large doses instead of conforming to doses prescribed by the government.

On November 3, as many as 10 children fell ill from vitamin A overdose, four of them critically, in Rajartilla village under Kathigorah block.

In 2003, 23 children died and scores fell ill after a similar vitamin A overdose in 12 districts of the state.