NEW DELHI: Taking stern action over those accountable for the tragedy that unfolded at Asha Kiran shelter home, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Saturday issued directions to initiate disciplinary action against the administrator of the facility. The L-G also ordered the removal of duty medical officer Dr. Sunita Singh Rathore for obstructing the probe into the death of the inmates.
The actions came based on a report filed by the chief medical officer (CMO) of Asha Kiran where it was highlighted that the facility’s administrator, despite several alerts about the deteriorating health of the inmates, chose not to act.
The CMO, in a report dated July 19, 2024, flagged that there was a surge in the cases of acute gastroenteritis and tuberculosis (TB) on account of negligence due to lack of supervision by the superintendent and welfare officers.
As per the report, the superintendent flagged on July 6 that there was a rise in TB cases in the shelter home which had caused mass casualties.
“It is incomprehensible that in the eventuality of an outbreak of communicable disease, why isolation of inmates was not done to prevent its spread. It is also brought out that there is extreme overcrowding and the number of inmates is way beyond the capacity of the facility resulting in inhuman conditions for the inmates,” the L-G noted.
“A show cause notice should be issued to the Administrator seeking explanation on why disciplinary action should not be initiated against him for failing to discharge his duties and invoke corrective action...,” his order read.