Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday said he was travelling to Balaghat over the deaths of more than 30 tribal children; he has alleged that Madhya Pradesh Police is moving to detain tribal students who helped coordinate his visit. More than 30 children have reportedly died due to infectious diseases in Balaghat district.
“I’m on my way to Balaghat, MP, where 30 Tribal children have died. I’ve received information from one of the Tribal activists that MP Police is now moving to detain some of the Tribal students coordinating my visit,” Dipke posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Why is it always a BJP-ruled state that seems so afraid of the truth coming out?” he added.
The claim comes as the Madhya Pradesh High Court has separately issued notices to state authorities on a PIL over the deaths. The matter is next listed for hearing on September 18.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal issued notices to the state health department, women and child development department, Balaghat Collector and others while hearing the public interest litigation (PIL). The PIL was filed by Narsinghpur district resident Anshul Tiwari and is based on newspaper reports.
The petition alleged that children were not receiving adequate medical care and that around 400 children were being treated at a hospital with a capacity of 50 beds.
During the preliminary hearing last week, the bench had observed that filing a PIL solely on the basis of newspaper reports was not appropriate. It had directed the petitioner to visit the affected areas in Balaghat, assess the situation firsthand, verify the facts and submit a report.
The petitioner’s lawyer Abhishek Pandey and Atul Shukla told the bench on Wednesday that he had visited the affected areas following the court’s direction and has prepared the report.
The petitioner claimed in the report that handpumps were spewing yellow-coloured water in the affected areas, there was widespread filth in the area. The petitioner claimed that these conditions were causing infections and that children continued to die from diseases, adding that children and women had not received nutritious food on time for several months.
It said the administration had woken up only after more than 30 deaths, following which the number of hospital beds was increased, and health services, sanitation and cleanliness arrangements were improved in the area. After examining the report, the division bench issued notices seeking responses from the authorities.
(With PTI inputs)
