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Two-Year-Old Boy Dies of Malnutrition in Alappuzha, Child Rights Panel Orders Probe

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A two-year-old boy died of suspected malnutrition in the Haripad region of Alappuzha district, Keralam. The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has initiated suo motu proceedings into the death.

Following media reports, the Commission sought explanations 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.

The deceased child was the sixth child of Rajesh and Thara, who lived in Karthikappally. Reports indicate that another of their children had died around a year earlier.

The child’s siblings have been moved to a protective facility under the Social Justice Department. The postmortem examination revealed that the two-year-old suffered from malnutrition and anaemia. Weighing just 7 kg, he was significantly underweight compared with the average of around 12 kg for children of his age. The findings have raised concerns about the family’s living conditions and the care provided to the children.

In August, the couple and their five children were moved to Sneha Veedu, a shelter operated by Haripad Gandhibhavan. However, the parents subsequently took the children out of the facility, claiming they had arranged suitable rental accommodation. Local representatives had also reportedly tried to extend support, but alleged that the family had been uncooperative.

Reports suggest that the parents repeatedly neglected their children’s basic needs, raising serious concerns about their living conditions and the care they received.

The 30-year-old woman has given birth to seven children over the past decade. However, none of the children has a birth certificate or an Aadhaar card, and there are no records of their vaccinations.

None of the children attends school, including the eldest, who is 10 years old. The family reportedly moves from one rented house to another every two to three months and has been uncooperative with people who have tried to help them.

Following the death of the two-year-old, Thrikkunnapuzha police inspected the family’s rented house and found it in a severely unhygienic condition, with clothes and utensils scattered around.

The extent of the neglect was also reflected in an account shared by an Anganwadi worker. When the worker asked the mother about her eldest child’s age during a recent home visit, the mother reportedly said she did not know.

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