The system’s apathy lay bare as three girls – aged between two and 11 – “starved to death” in Delhi’s Mandavali region on the intervening night of 23 and 24 July.
An autopsy conducted by Lal Bahadur Shashtri Hospital, followed by another autopsy by Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, indicated that Mansi, Shikha and Parul were overwhelmingly undernourished.
But how did three daughters of this family slip through the cracks? Did no one in the neighbourhood notice or offer them help?
These questions emerge in the wake of the magisterial report that has called for a “deeper investigation” – and questioned the autopsy reports.
In a report, K Mahesh, the District Magistrate for Delhi East, has mentioned that Mangal Singh, the missing father of the three girls, had given “unknown medicines mixed in hot water” on the night of 23 July, a day before their deaths. The report further questions Singh’s disappearance since their deaths.
The Quint visited the East Delhi slum to find out what the living conditions of the children there are, and talked to doctors to find out how starvation of this magnitude can occur.
What Do the Autopsy Reports Say?
Dr Amita Saxena, Superintendent of Medical Staff at Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shashtri Hospital, told The Quint that the three girls were so severely malnourished that their bodies showed “no signs of fat”.
The state of undernourishment was so severe that the girls “appeared eerily skeletal” and so chronic that they even displayed signs of stunted growth. So stunted, that some at LBS hospital “couldn’t find much an age-difference between Shikha and Parul, in terms of their appearance.”
Their stomachs, intestines and urinary bladders were empty. Their gall bladders were filled with bile, which means all the fat in the body had been digested because of severe starvation.Dr Amita Saxena
This, according to Dr Saxena, means that the three girls were first malnourished for a long time, which became aggravated as they allegedly went without food for days – the exact number is not clear.
“But what is clear is that their bodies had turned so weak from chronic undernourishment, that it had set off a series of irreversible changes that took the form of deadly infections,” Dr Saxena added.
“Unusual, But Can’t Be Ruled Out”
Concurring with Dr Saxena that all the three girls could have died of starvation-induced complications, senior gastroenterologist Dr Aswini Setya told The Quint that the death of three kids at the same time is a little unusual to believe, but can't be completely ruled out, given the circumstances.
Starvation is a process, but if it’s a case of chronic undernourishment, then things can get worse. Water deficiency is an acute problem. If a person is not given water for 72 hours, as it appears, then it might even lead to death.Dr Setya
But were the girls not given water to drink by either of their parents or the neighbours?
Other occupants of the building in which the family had arrived as guests told The Quint that they saw the girls vomiting when they first arrived, just three days before the girls died. This, Dr Saxena says, could have dehydrated the three sisters.
Apart from the medical complications, both Dr Saxena and Dr Setya confirmed that the inability of a mentally-ill mother to understand what was happening to her daughters, could have contributed to their deaths. The father, according to an Indian Express report, was an alcoholic and a rickshaw-puller, who mostly kept away from home, leaving the mentally ill mother to fend for herself and her children.
Where Were the Medicines Purchased From?
The magisterial probe into the deaths have said that the girls may have died after their father gave them an “unknown medicine”.
Did that trigger the simultaneous deaths?
When The Quint asked Subhash Singh, SHO of the Mandavali police station, whether any medicines were recovered from the house, the officer refused to share any information on the matter. Repeated requests for clarity on the matter by three members of this publication were turned down by the SHO.
Since both the father Mangal Singh and his friend Narayan, in whose house the family had taken refuge, have been untraceable, it is not clear which medicines were purchased and from where. The locals, however, told The Quint that a mohalla clinic, just metres away from Narayan’s home, is the go-to clinic in the neighbourhood.
The doctor in-charge of the Delhi-government facility refused to comment on the matter. He told The Quint that he did not know about these medicines, and whether or not were they purchased from that facility.
Neighbours told The Quint that the mother, Beena, always kept the door shut, and the three sisters never stepped out of the room. Savitri, a housewife in the same building, said that she had not seen any doctor pay a visit to the ailing kids.
Does this mean that the father Mangal Singh had purchased medicines without having a doctor examine his kids?
Dr Saxena, however, ruled out the possibility of deaths caused by improper medication in this particular case. She reiterated that it was a case of chronic malnutrition that had been exacerbated over a period of time.
Neighbours Unsure, Say Enough Food to Feed Anyone
It isn’t clear how the three kids went unfed for days.
The landlady, Sudesh, of the building where thethree kids were found dead, said that the family of five had arrived at Narayan’s room as guests on 21 July, just three days before.
Narayan, an old-time friend of Mangal Singh, was hosting the family. They lost their earlier accommodation due to reasons that are still not clear.
While a report suggested that they were evicted from a rented accommodation in Saket area after they failed to pay long-pending dues, another said that their shanty had collapsed in heavy rains. The Quint has not been able to verify either of the claims as the locals in Mandawali said that the new family had barely stepped out to have a proper conversation with anyone.
“We face hardships on a daily basis, but we have enough food to feed anyone. How could we have known that they hadn’t had food for so long that they would pass away? In fact, they would keep their doors shut and not talk to anyone about anything,” said Savitri.
No Complaints Against Aanganwadi Workers, Say Locals
In the wake of this shocking incident, several media reports had pointed towards a collective failure of the system. Although The Quint couldn’t verify the status of Anganwadi centres in the locality from which the family had come, the one right opposite Narayan’s building was seen serving an afternoon meal.
Sunaina, a worker at the government facility, said that she had been cooking such meals for children up to six years on a daily basis.
The kids from the locality come to the centre from 9 in the morning to 12:30 in the afternoon. They play here, and we ensure that children are properly fed, leaving no one. Since the family had arrived recently, we had no idea that those three kids were left to starve.Sunaina
Malti, who has been living in a room on the same floor as that of Narayan for over a decade, said that Anganwadi workers regularly visit houses to check on children, their health, and oversee their vaccination as well.
Conflicting Reports, Questions Remain
So, what did the children die of – starvation from negligence, or improper medication? And if negligence, whose?
As of now, there are two competing versions for the first question. While the two autopsy reports say that the three sisters died of starvation, the SDM’s report, as stated above, casts aspersions on other factors such as ‘wrong’ medicine and stomach infection, which only the pending viscera report can confirm.
It is clear that the children were undernourished and starving, but to what extent were they neglected, and who is at fault? Did their father Mangal do enough to save his kids? According to an HT report, the family owned a business in neighbouring Saket block that went broke some years ago, leading to Mangal taking up drinking.
But it is exactly for such families, where children are the most vulnerable, that the Integrated Child Protection Scheme was set up in 2009. It entitles families to monthly grants of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 and mandates district-level committees to “identify and support vulnerable families.” It also empowers committees to place vulnerable kids under foster care.
Although the ICPS says child protection is the primary responsibility of the family, it also mentions the supporting role of the community, government and civil society.
Isn’t the deaths of three sisters, all at one go, a collective shame?
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)