india

Updated: Oct 02, 2019 20:19 IST

A 10-year-old girl died under mysterious circumstances at a government-aided private shelter home in Begusarai in Bihar Wednesday morning.

While the shelter home authorities claimed she was ill, other inmates alleged a conspiracy, pointing out that she died in the presence of shelter home staff who had taken her to the hospital after she complained of stomach ache.

Her friends had spotted her in an unconscious state and alerted the hostel authorities who took her to sadar hospital where a doctor declared her brought dead.

On being informed by the shelter home authorities, police reached the hospital and sent the body for post-mortem. Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed outside the shelter home to tackle any possible disturbance.

A police officer said that they have launched a probe although the exact cause of her death will be known only after the post mortem.

Anuja Kumari, superintendent of the shelter home said that the inmate had been staying there since June 13 when she was handed over to them by Khagaria child welfare committee. Her identity is yet to be ascertained.

The shelter home is operated by Karpoori Thakur Rural Development Organisation, Patna, under the state social welfare department.

A police officer said that no case has been registered because police have not received any formal complaint. “We are waiting for the recommendation of the district administration, which is probing the matter,” he added

Begusarai’s district magistrate M Arvind Kumar Verma said that they were probing if there was any negligence on part of the shelter officials.

Last month, five girls escaped from the shelter home after thrashing the guard. Later, four of them were recovered from Begusarai railway station with the help of GRP.

Earlier in September 2018, a 12-year-old girl from Assam’s Kamrup district was hospitalised after she allegedly swallowed glass shards in a bid to commit suicide due to the “torture” inflicted upon her in the same shelter home.

She had alleged that inmates were beaten and not given adequate food at the shelter home run. She had claimed before the media that the shelter home’s warden had threatened to strip and thrash her for not admitting to stealing a shampoo pouch.

Bihar was recently rocked by the reports of sexual abuse of girls in a state-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur. Later, the death of two inmates in another welfare home in Patna had again thrown the spotlight on child abuse at such places.