Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) has ordered an inquiry into the death of M. Vakalamma (7).
The Yanadi tribe girl, who was rescued by Railway Protection Force (RPF) from Madura Nagar railway station in Vijayawada on July 2 along with her two sisters, died of ill health in a Child Care Institution (CCI).
Responding to the news published in The Hindu on the death of the tribal girl, the APSCPCR has asked the officers concerned to probe into the incident and submit a report within 48 hours.
The Childline staff had produced the girl before the NTR District Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which had shifted her to Chiguru Home being run by Nava Jeevan Bala Bhavan (NJBB) in Guntur district.
The home staff admitted Vakalamma into Vijayawada Government General Hospital (GGH) on August 14 after she complained of severe stomach pain. Vakalamma died in the wee hours on August 19, and the funeral rights were performed on the same day at Bhavanipuram in Vijayawada.
RPF CI Chandrashekar Reddy said that acting on a tip-off from the railway station staff, a team of officials rescued Vakalamma and her sisters, and handed them over to an NGO, Childline.
CWC Chairperson K. Suvartha said the children were anaemic when the Childline staff produced them. “As per norms, the Childline staff should perform COVID-19 and medical tests before producing them befire the CWC. But, it was not done,” she said.
Expressing concern over the death of girl, APSCPCR Chairman Kesali Appa Rao asked the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) officers of NTR and Guntur districts to conduct an inquiry.
“District Probation Officers (DPOs) and the District Child Protection Officers (DCPOs) of the two district have been instucted to submit a report within two days,” Mr. Appa Rao said on Sunday.
NTR District WD&CW Project Director G. Uma Devi said that a team of officials would inquire about the case sheet of the victim and other details.
