Three sisters die of ‘starvation’ in Delhi; government orders magisterial probe

Three sisters - aged two, four and eight years, respectively, died due to starvation in east Delhi’s Mandawali area, police said on Wednesday, quoting their initial post-mortem reports.

However, police said that the second autopsy will establish the cause of death with finality. They added that there were no traces of food found in the stomach of the girls.

The girls, who were brought to a hospital by their mother and a neighbour at around 1 pm, were declared brought dead by the hospital. The mother of the girls was reportedly mentally unstable and their father, a rickshaw puller was missing since Tuesday.

According to reports, the family had shifted to a small room in Talab Chowk on Saturday after their shanty in the slums of Mandawali was damaged due to rains.

Also Read | Old man held for stealing books worth Rs 3 crore to recover unpaid rent from tenant

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the government had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the deaths of the girls. The area where the incident took place falls under his constituency.

However, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari attacked the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi over the incident, saying that the such a "mishap" occured in the national capital where the government claims to championing ration distribution to the poor.

 "It saddens us beyond expression that such an incident happened in the constituency of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia," Tiwari said.

Reacting to Tiwari's attack, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said the Delhi government was trying to implement the doorstep delivery of ration, but the BJP was stopping it.