J’Khand Starvation Death: Victim’s Kin Abused for Defaming Village

Jharkhand CM has ordered a fresh probel into the death and asked for the report to be submitted by 18 October.

Children crowd around to receive food at an anganwadi. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: Shorbori Purkayastha/TheQuint)

On 16 October, also celebrated as World Food Day, the irony was a bit hard to miss when a report by Scroll emerged on the death of an 11-year-old girl from Jharkhand’s Simdega district, due to starvation. Santoshi Kumar had allegedly died on 28 September after going hungry for over eight days, the report claimed.

The reason for her hunger? Santoshi’s impoverished family’s ration card was revoked as it was not linked to their Aadhaar number, thus, denying them rations.

Though the Simdega administration has claimed that Santoshi was suffering from malaria and had died from the ailment.

Simdega deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri told Chief Minister Raghubar Das that a three-member team, constituted on 6 October, conducted a probe into Santoshi’s death and said that the girl died of malaria. The chief minister had ordered for a fresh probe into the death.

Family Blamed for ‘Defaming’ Village

Now, the mother of the 11-year-old has accused the villagers of threatening and abusing her for ‘defaming’ the village.

Koyli Devi, the mother of the victim, said she was “living in fear” as the villagers thronged outside her house and abused her family.

I have been living in fear; villagers abused me and asked me to leave the village. They thronged outside my house and abused me and threatened me as I raised the issue.

Koyli Devi to ANI

Following the threats, Koyli Devi and her family reportedly travelled 8 km from her village to the Patiamba village in the Jaldega block to take shelter.

A Times of India report said that the family has now been given security cover.

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