4 mentally-challenged women at Noida shelter home die within fortnight, probe ordered

Noida, January 7

Four mentally-challenged women residing in a government shelter home in Noida have died within a fortnight, prompting the district administration to order a probe in the matter.

The shelter home, the only such facility in the city, is located in Sector 34 and the matter has also been reported to the local Sector 24 police station.

District Probation Officer Atul Kumar Soni said the first death took place on December 20 when a 50-year-old inmate died, followed by the death of another 50-year-old woman on December 23, that of a 25-year-old woman on December 30 and a 30-year-old woman on January 3.

“The four women were mentally challenged and were suffering from seizures. They were being treated by Dr Tanuja Gupta at the district hospital. Necessary medicines were given to them by two nurses of the hospital,” Soni said.

“As soon as the information about the deaths of these women was received, the last rites were conducted after post-mortem as per the rules and the local police station was also informed about it,” he was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Citing the post-mortem report findings, police officials said two of the women died of heart attacks, while one had a prolonged illness and the other tuberculosis.

At present, there are 114 inmates in the shelter home for unidentified mentally-challenged women, who are admitted to the facility through a first-class magistrate.

“There are 72 CCTV cameras installed on the shelter home premises. There is staff for taking care of the inmates. The facility was earlier operated on the PPP model,” Soni said.

“In the last two years, more than 60 mentally-challenged inmates of the shelter home have been rehabilitated after treatment and counselling. They have been sent back to their families through the magistrate,” he added.

According to officials, the district administration has ordered a probe into the deaths to ascertain if there was any negligence on the part of the shelter home staff. —PTI

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