The Centre will send its team within a week to investigate the death of 11-year -old girl in Simdega, allegedly due to starvation. “A meeting was held on Friday on the issue and a decision was taken to send a team within a week to investigate the alleged hunger death of the girl in Simdega,” said Assistant Personal Secretary to Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Ramvilas Paswan, SN Singh. “Names of the officials who will visit Jharkhand, however, are yet to be decided,” he added.
The Central Minister has directed the newly appointed Union Food Secretary Ravi Kant to investigate the matter and a team will soon be sent to look into the matter. “Meanwhile, the State Government has been asked to send a report in this regard,” said Singh. “Expressing anguish over the incident, the minister has said that it was really a matter of concern that a family was not provided food grains even after the implementation of Food Security Act in the State,” he added.
“He also demanded strict action against those responsible for failing to provide ration to the girl’s family,” said the Assistant Secretary to the Minister. “The family at least would have been provided food security allowance, if the State Government had failed to provide food grains to it,” he added. Singh further added that that there was a provision under Food Security Act for providing 1.25 times of Minimum Support Price (MSP) of foodgrains to the family, in case it is not being provided ration from the State Government.
“The State Government had been provided food grains under this head which was also been lifted from the godowns of Food Corporation of India on time regularly,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, taking swift action, the Simdega district administration has suspended Block Supply Officer Ramesh Kumar, ANM Mala Devi along with the license of PDS dealer Bhola Sahu, who refused food grains to her family.
The District Administration, however, has claimed that the girl died of malaria as she was suffering from it from quite some time.
“A test conducted on her mother Koyali Devi on October 13 also revealed that she was suffering from malaria, following which she was admitted to the local hospital for treatment,” the DC said. Meanwhile, those whose ration cards have not been linked to their Aadhaar number are also being provided ration following the directions of the State Government, he added.
The State Food and Civil Supplies Department, coming into action, also decided to check the status of 11.5 lakh ration cards nullified in April for not having been linked with Aadhaar numbers.
Incidentally, Santoshi Kumari allegedly starved to death on September 28, as her family was denied PDS rice after July as the ration card of the girl’s grandmother was cancelled for not being linked to Aadhaar.