Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Committee on Petitions of the Delhi Assembly on Monday revealed a severe staff shortage at the Asha Kiran shelter home in Rohini, where 14 inmates died last month. The committee, chaired by AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar, held a meeting with the shelter home’s officers and raised serious concerns about the staffing crisis.
At a press conference, Kumar accused the Lieutenant Governor, V K Saxena, of appointing an officer previously suspended for five years by the CBI as the shelter home’s administrator. “The LG office has been issuing false statements regarding the administrator’s appointment. The administrator, Rahul Agarwal, was appointed on October 4, 2022, without the involvement of the social welfare minister,” Kumar claimed.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Agarwal was arrested by the CBI in 2016 for taking a bribe and remained suspended for five years.
Kumar highlighted the “huge shortage” of staff at the shelter home and said the committee would write to the LG seeking an explanation for the vacancies and why no officer was punished for the negligence that led to the deaths of 14 inmates in July. He added that 33 auxiliary nurse midwives and two other staff members have not been paid for six months, and their contracts have not been renewed.
The committee plans to hold further meetings with the shelter home’s officers and submit a report to the Speaker of the Assembly. The committee had visited the shelter home recently to investigate the series of deaths.
Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi stated that the government received an interim report from the magisterial probe into the deaths. “They have sought more time to complete the magisterial probe. Thirteen adults and a minor’s postmortem report are awaited, and further action will be taken based on the report,” she said. Atishi emphasized that the postmortem reports would clarify the cause of deaths, noting that the deceased had severe intellectual disabilities and comorbidities.
The minister assured that any negligence found would result in strict action. “If any administrative officer, medical staff, or social welfare department personnel are found negligent, they will face strict action with zero tolerance,” Atishi stressed.
The Delhi government had ordered a magisterial probe on August 2 into the deaths of 14 inmates at the Asha Kiran shelter home. The LG has also directed an investigation into the operations of Delhi government-run shelter homes, including Asha Kiran, calling the deaths “an act of criminality against the most disadvantaged.”
Asha Kiran is a facility run by the Delhi government for the “mentally challenged” and falls under its Social Welfare Department.
