Two-year-old who died in Kerala’s Alappuzha was severely malnourished, anemic

The death of a two-year-old boy in Alappuzha’s Karthikapally has revealed alleged prolonged neglect by his parents, despite multiple interventions by authorities. The boy, identified as Rahul, died on Sunday, October 18. 

According to police, the child suffered from acute malnutrition and severe anemia. According to reports, the two-year-old weighed only 7.6 kg, whereas the average healthy weight for his age is closer to 12 kg. 

The cause of death can be confirmed only after the histopathological report, the Thrikkunnapuzha police told TNM. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered for unnatural death. 

Rahul was the sixth child of Rajesh, an auto driver in Alappuzha, and his wife Thara. The tragic incident transpired while Thara was admitted at the hospital for the delivery of their seventh child. 

The boy was found sick at home on Sunday morning by his father Rajesh. He took him to the hospital in his autorickshaw, where doctors declared the child brought dead. 

“The child’s lungs had issues right from birth. We had consulted a pediatrician. When his condition became worse, I rushed him to the hospital,” Rajesh told the media.

Following the child’s death, it was revealed that the parents had allegedly neglected the children. Despite various interventions by the Panchayat, the Health Department, and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the parents had allegedly been unwilling to take responsibility for the children’s care and protection or hand them over to the CWC .

Speaking to TNM, Alappuzha CWC chairperson advocate V Geetha said they had attempted to rescue the five children, including Rahul, on October 6, but Thara resisted the move. "If we had managed to save the children back then, Rahul might still be alive today," Geetha said.

However, Rajesh told the media that they had ensured their children were properly looked after.

Rahul is the couple’s second child that has died. “Another child had died after choking on milk,” Rajesh said. 

The remaining four children – girls aged between three and 10 – are currently under the care of the Alappuzha CWC. 

Authorities’ interventions

Months prior to Rahul’s death, concerns regarding the severe neglect and poor living conditions of the children were reported to the CWC by local authorities. However CWC failed to rescue the children despite repeated attempts allegedly because Thara resisted it. 

According to Ullasan P, the president of Karthikapally Panchayat, the family moved into Rajesh’s family house in Karthikapally two months ago. Before that, they lived in Vettuveli, nearly 10 km away.

The family had once previously been moved to the Gandhibhavan shelter home in  Pathanapuram before they moved to Karthikappally. “Gandhibhavan authorities were willing to shelter the whole family there and also willing to give both the parents a job. But what we later heard is Thara moved from there after threatening to kill herself,” said Geetha, the Alappuzha CWC chairperson.

After they moved into the house in Karthikapally, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker had visited the house to inquire about Thara’s health, as she was pregnant. “Thara refused to cooperate with the ASHA worker and to go to the public health centre for a check-up,” Ullasan said.

Upon being alerted by the ASHA worker, the Panchayat informed the CWC about the alleged neglect. The CWC approached the family on October 6 in an effort to rescue the children.

“We promised shelter and protection for the children. But Thara refused to give us the children and threatened to kill herself,” Geetha said.

Lekha, a Panchayat ward member and ASHA worker, told TNM that authorities from the Karthikappally Primary Health Centre had also approached Thara on multiple occasions to persuade her to undergo medical check-ups and to administer vaccines for the children.

“After they shifted to Karthikapally, the local Anganawadi teacher also went to their house and provided food for the children. But the couple was not willing to cooperate with us,” Lekha added.

Lekha said she had also noticed the malnourished legs of the two-year-old. “When I asked the parents about it, they said the child had been that way since birth,” she said. 

Lekha was also among the group who took Thara to Vandanam Medical College Hospital for the delivery of her seventh child. “Thara’s neighbours informed us she had started labour pains on October 17. We went there and took her to the hospital. Rajesh said he would follow us to the hospital, but he didn’t come,” Lekha added. She said the newborn is currently healthy.

Panchayat president Ullasan also said the four other children were not being sent to school. Neither did the children have any ID proof. 

Rajesh told the media that the children used to go to school when they were living in Mavelikkara. “When we moved from there,  we discontinued their studies,” he said. 

According to Geetha, the CWC and other officials had decided to rescue the children when Thara was taken to the hospital for delivery. “Sadly, one child died before that,” she said.

Following the toddler's death, the Panchayat alerted the CWC, who immediately intervened and took custody of the remaining four children. The girls are aged between three and 10, and are now living in the CWC home. Geetha said that the children have currently not presented with any health issues.

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognisance of the toddler’s death. The commission also sought a report from the District Medical Officer, the Karthikappally Grama Panchayat secretary, the District Child Protection Officer, and the Panchayat's Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) supervisor.