3 minor sisters ‘ die of starvation’

Mom rushes girls to hospital as father goes missing No injury marks were found on the bodies, sources said, adding that the re- examination would help ascertain whether they were poisoned Magisterial probe ordered

In a tragic incident, three sisters were found dead under mysterious circumstances in east Delhi’s Mandawali area, the police said on Wednesday. The initial post- mortem report indicated that they died of starvation, prompting the city government to order a magisterial probe into the matter.

“The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial probe into the matter,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia tweeted.

The girls — aged two, four and eight — were declared brought dead by a hospital on Tuesday. A neighbour, along with the mother, rushed them to the hospital at around 1 pm, and the hospital authorities informed the police about their deaths.

A board of doctors will conduct a re- examination of the bodies at the GTB Hospital, Pankaj Singh, deputy commissioner of police ( east), said.

A forensic team inspected the place where the family was staying and found some medicine bottles and pills, the police said. The girls’ father, who worked

as a casual labourer, is missing since Tuesday and the mother is unable to give detailed information.

According to sources, there wasn’t a single morsel of food in the stomach of the three minor girls and they had not had nutritious food for a long time and were malnourished.

No injury marks were found on the bodies, they said, adding that the reexamination would help ascertain whether they were poisoned.

Initially, it seemed to be a case of natural death but with the medicine bottles being recovered, police want to ensure that there was no foul play in the death of the girls.

Locals said that the family had shifted to the area on Saturday, and they did not have much interaction with them. The girls’ father used to ride a rickshaw on rent. After it was stolen a few days ago, they were brought to the area by a friend, who had given them shelter at his residence.

Two of the sisters, aged two and four, had been unwell for a few days. They suffered bouts of vomiting and loose motion, residents said, adding that the eldest sister had gone to school on Tuesday. The police are probing as to how she also fell ill suddenly. They are investigating the case from all angles, including the girls dying of malnourishment.