Five-yr-old dies of starvation

4 other inmates of Jalna home for special kids critical

AURANGABAD: A five-year-old inmate of the Dr. Shankarlal Mundada Mentally Retarded Children’s Hostel at Jalna has died of starvation and four other children have been hospitalised in a critical condition.

Shankar Kamble died at the civil hospital in Jalna, 60 km from Aurangabad, on Thursday evening while the other boys have been admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad. 

The hostel is run by a private trust with 100% aid from the state government.
Dean of the GMCH Dr NV Dravid told DNA that four mentally challenged children between the ages of five and 12 years were admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. The boys have been kept under the observation of paediatrician Dr LS Deshmukh.

When contacted, Dr Deshmukh said, “We have started treatment. The boys seem to have gone without food for a week as a result of which they lost consciousness. They are stable now, but any improvement will be seen only after 48 hours.”

Dr Arun Tekade, who was handling Shankar’s case at the Jalna Civil Hospital, said the boy was admitted to the hospital at 2 pm. However, he died during treatment at 6 pm. “It was death due to starvation and malnutrition,” Dr Tekade said.

“The hostel has 50 inmates and all of them are suffering from malnutrition,” said said hostel superintendent Virendra Dhoka.

Meanwhile, no complaint had been filed with the Jalna police until 9 pm.