NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Saturday issued a notice to Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora over the death of 12 inmates within a month in the Delhi government-run shelter home- Asha Kiran in Rohini. The commission also asked the authorities to file a detailed report in the matter within 4 weeks.
According to the Commission, they took suo-motu cognisance of a news report, which if true, raises a serious issue of violations of human rights of the inmates at the reportedly overcrowded shelter home.
"The deaths of inmates, in such a large number within a short period, indicate negligence on the part of the authorities," an NHRC official said.
The Commission stated that it expects the "detailed report" which would be filed by the Police Commissioner and Chief Secretary, to include the status of the FIR in the matter, action taken against the responsible officers and steps taken by the authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
The NHRC, quoting the media reports said that the deceased included 10 women and two men. Their symptoms were similar i.e. loose motion and vomiting. Several other inmates are reportedly undergoing treatment at the hospital.
As per the data of the medical care unit of the shelter home in July, 54 inmates were sent outside the facility for treatment. This has caused alarm and revived allegations of neglect and poor living conditions at the Shelter Home.
Reportedly, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had red-flagged the functioning of this shelter home in its 2015 report.
It was observed that the facility was over-burdened, ill-equipped for medical emergencies and short on staff.
The report had highlighted that a total of 148 deaths had occurred during the period 2009-14. It had also found slackness on the part of the department towards decongestion of the Asha Kiran complex.
In 2017, the Delhi Commission for Women also submitted a report stating that the facility was in poor condition.