The story so far: A two-year-old boy died in Alappuzha district’s Karthikapally, near Haripad, on October 18 allegedly owing to severe malnutrition and acute anaemia. The death occurred when the boy’s mother was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital, Vandanam, for giving birth. The boy weighed around 7.5 kg against the average weight of 12 kg for a two-year-old child.
The child’s death shook the State, raising questions about the effectiveness of child protection measures. This was the mother’s seventh delivery. The couple has four other children, all girls, besides the newborn, a boy. Another child, again a boy, had died earlier.
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has registered a suo motu case in connection with the incident. The district child welfare committee (CWC) has taken over the care of the four girl children.
The Thrikkunnapuzha police who have registered a case of unnatural death are awaiting the results of a histopathology test to confirm whether the child’s death was owing to some illness or malnourishment. The health condition of the surviving children is also being examined, the police said.
What are the allegations against the parents?
According to Women and Child Development (WCD) department and panchayat authorities, the family mostly lived an itinerant life, rarely staying put at one place for long. They mostly lived in rented accommodation, moving away whenever some intervention from the authorities was expected in the wake complaints from the people or the mechanisms under the WCD and the Health departments.
The constant moving also made it difficult for the authorities to monitor them.
The four girl children had been living in a child care institution since December 2024. During the summer vacation this year, the couple insisted that the children return to live with them. The CWC accordingly issued an order. However, the parents refused to send the girl children back to the care home even after the vacation despite repeated pleas.
In June this year, the family was moved to Gandhi Bhavan at Pathanapuram following the intervention of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, who is the local MLA, and ASHA and anganwadi workers. The whole family was promised not only accommodation, but work too. However, they did not remain there for even a week, returning after the mother threatened to commit suicide and starve themselves.
On October 6, attempts were made by WCD department officials, panchayat officials, ASHA worker, Health officials, and the police to shift the couple’s children to a care home but were met with stiff resistance from the mother. They had to step back after the mother threatened self-harm and that to the baby.
A decision was then made to shift the children to safety when the mother was admitted to hospital for giving birth. However, the toddler passed away when the mother was hospitalised.
At the time of his death, the family was living in a house at Karthikapally that belonged to the husband’s family. However, it was said to be in a deplorable condition.
WCD officials say food was provided from anganwadis for the mother and younger children and efforts made to enrol the oldest child in school.
Primary health centre authorities repeatedly urged the mother to undergo health check-ups since she was pregnant. However, she allegedly did not cooperate with them at all and hurled abuses at them.
Panchayat officials allege the children were neglected by the parents. Often, the children were fed by neighbours.
The couple was said to be reluctant to adopt family planning. The mother had given birth to seven children in 10 years. The father was also alleged to be an alcoholic.
The children had not been fully vaccinated and also lacked documents such as birth certificates or Aadhaar.
How did the authorities react to the child’s death?
Terming the toddler’s death owing to malnutrition heart breaking, Minister for Women and Child Development Bindhu Krishna said the Women and Child Development department was aware of the matter and had “earnestly” intervened several times to resolve it.
The mother was counselled and underwent procedure to stop pregnancies. She will remain in hospital along with the newborn for some more days. A mental health evaluation is on the cards. The CWC is also ready to take over the care of the newborn.
Have more such instances been reported in Alappuzha?
A similar instance has been reported from Purakkad in Alappuzha. The family concerned is indigent, does not have enough food, and the mother is pregnant with the fifth child, according to the Minister.
Kerala has seen infant deaths owing to malnutrition in tribal areas such as Attappady in Palakkad in the past.
How has the government responded to address the issue?
Minister Bindhu Krishna has said that the incident highlights systemic problems. Even though the department had rescued the children, further interventions had been stopped in its tracks by parental resistance. Instead of pausing or going back on steps to ensure children’s welfare, lack of cooperation from any quarter should be overcome. In this instance, when the children did not return to the child care institution after the vacations, higher officials should have been involved to keep the children safe.
“The department’s responsibility does not end with taking decisions or issuing orders. Implementation is key. The mindset should be that we are the custodian of every child,” the Minister said, adding that support of other departments should be taken when needed.
What steps are planned to prevent recurrence of such incidents?
A State-wide vulnerability mapping will be held to identity children living in vulnerable conditions that pose a risk to their health, education, and safety. Once the vulnerable children are identified and their details collected, regular follow-ups will be held.
Coordination between various departments will be strengthened and regular meetings of child protection and welfare committees, from district to village levels, will be held.
Women and Child Development Officers in districts will be fully responsible for ensuring children’s safety and rehabilitation.
Social investigation reports have to be submitted to child welfare committees in a time-bound manner. Individual care plans will be prepared for all children in care institutions. Only if the social investigation report confirms that the child is safe will a child be sent back to the family. Even after rehabilitation of children, anganwadi worker, ICDS supervisor, and psychosocial counsellor should continue to monitor their situation.
Children’s nutrition and growth will be tracked, and urgent interventions held if malnutrition or neglect are found.