News

Volume 7 Issue 2 - January 15, 2010

Series of deaths at Asha Kiran

D.N.I.S. News Network, India: A string of deaths at a state run mental institution has raised eyebrows regarding the frequency and nature of these deaths. Located in Rohini sector of New Delhi, Asha Kiran, the observation home for mentally disabled persons has seen as many as 13 deaths so far. What makes one angry is that it took one month and 13 deaths for the authorities to wake up and realize that something is ghastly amiss.

While the observation home officials maintain that all deaths were natural, a probe conducted seems to hint on a human rights issue. A team that visited the premises described the place as an “overcrowded cage, with conditions worse than a national zoo.” The complex, which was built to accommodate 350 people, houses about 740 people!

Of the deaths that occurred, most were attributed to fits and end stage tuberculosis. The deterioration in the situation, many feel, is due to the inhumane way in which residents are being huddled up in an institution that is operating beyond its capacity. The observation home is being run by the Delhi government's Social Welfare Department.