Another Khunti shelter home baby dies in Ranchi, toll reaches three

RANCHI: Another infant of Sahyog Village, a government-aided shelter home in Khunti district, died at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), while seven children were admitted to a Ranchi-based private hospital following underweight complications, officials said on Sunday. This is the third death in a week.

The shelter home, on August 19, witnessed deaths of two infants including a six-month-old girl, who was shifted by the Ranchi child welfare committee (CWC) from a Missionaries of Charity (MOC) run shelter homeShishu Bhawan, Hinoo to Sahyog Village following an alleged baby- selling incident at Nirmal Hriday in first week of July.

Khunti district social welfare officer (DSWO), Surjit Singh said, “The infant was suffering from underweight related complications. The baby was referred to RIMS on Friday morning but he could not survive and died the same night.”

Jasvinder Singh, a Sahyog Village official, said the baby girl was left by an unwed mother after her birth.

“She was admitted to malnutrition treatment centre i n Khunti on August 14 after her condition started deteriorating. On August 24, doctors said she needed to be referred TO...RIMS where she died. The report (post mortem)...will reveal actual cause of the death,” he said.

Out of 22 children rescued from Shishu Bhawan, 12 were given to Khunti CWC on July 14 to hand them over to their parents. However, Khunti CWC shifted the children to Sahyog Village in the name of verification.

The parents lodged complaints with the Ranchi district social welfare department and also filed a petition in the high court seeking the custody of their children.

RANCHI CWC HAD RESCUED 22 CHILDREN FROM MOC’S NIRMALA SHISHU BHAWAN ON JULY 6 FOLLOWING AN ALLEGED BABYSELLING INCIDENT THERE