Jharkhand reports two deaths due to starvation in three days, Chief Minister Raghubar Das order probe

Ranchi: Two women have died due to starvation in Jharkhand in the last three days, prompting Chief Minister Raghubar Das to order a probe. According to local media reports published on Tuesday, Meena Mushar (45), died in Itkhori block of Chatra district late on Monday. Her son Gautam Mushar, claimed that she died due to hunger. An autopsy is awaited to ascertain the exact cause. [caption id=“attachment_4497289” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The woman was a rag-picker. “My mother and I were eking out living by collecting and selling the waste products. There has been no income almost four days now,” Mushar said. “My mother had eaten nothing for the last four days. Her condition deteriorated on Monday evening and I carried her to hospital on my shoulders.” “Doctors declared her dead before arrival,” Mushar said. This has been the second starvation death in the last three days. On Saturday, Savitri Devi (65) from Mangargaddi village in Giridih died due to hunger. Villagers said she had not eaten a meal for three days. Savitri Devi did not have a ration card, nor was she given an old-age pension. She was making a living with her daughter-in-law, by begging for alms while her sons had migrated to other states in search of labour. In the past, deaths due to extreme hunger have been reported but the state government has always denied the causes of these deaths. However, this time the chief minister has taken cognisance of the Giridih death and sought a report. “Autopsies sometimes indicate death due to other causes as hungry people eat poisonous roots and fruits to fulfil their need, resulting in the district administration to deny hunger deaths, " said Kishore Sahdeo, Jharkhand Congress spokesperson.