Berhampur: The baby girl born to a minor tribal student inside the toilet of a sevashram residential high school at Daringbadi in Kandhamal district on January 12 died at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur on Monday.
According to sources, the minor girl and her newborn baby girl admitted to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Daringbadi were shifted to the MKCG at around 11.30 pm on Sunday. As the condition of the newborn was critical, she was admitted to the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) at 11.40 pm where she died at 12.15 am. The body of the newborn has been kept in the morgue of the hospital.
Meanwhile, a team of the Odisha Pradesh Mahila Congress led by its president Sumitra Jena accompanied by the office-bearers of the Ganjam District met the minor girl at the Labour room of the gynaecology ward.
Talking to the mediapersons later, the Mahila Congress president said the condition of the minor girl is critical.
“We found the girl in a state of fear and shock. As the girl got terrified after seeing the lady police staff, I asked them to leave the labour room. After they left the room, the girl told that she was raped some months ago. Later, she used to remain in the hostel. But after she gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday night inside the toilet of the hostel, the hostel staff left her and her baby inside a forest near the hostel. Some people found the girl in the early hours of Sunday and admitted her to the PHC,” Jena added.
Coming down heavily on the state government for its gross apathy towards the safety of the women, she said such incident had taken place at a sevashram high school in Balangir and the similar incident has recently occurred at a shelter home in Dhenkanal district.
“The Mahila Congress demands proper treatment and rehabilitation of the minor girl and a compensation of Rs 10-15 lakh to her family,” she pointed out.
The Mahila Congress also demanded immediate ouster of the SC and ST Development minister Ramesh Majhi from the ministry and immediate steps to ensure safety of the women in the state.
Condemning the incident, former BJD leader Damodar Rout said the Chief Minister should immediately resign owning moral responsibility. “If the Chief Minister is reluctant to resign, then he should throw out the Women and Child Development minister Prafulla Samal from the ministry at once,” he pointed out.
Terming the incident as shocking and grossly unfortunate, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said it is now clear that there is no law and order in the state. The SC and ST Development minister should resign from his post, he added.
Talking to mediapersons on this issue in Bhubaneswar, the SC and ST Development minister said that the state government has decided to put up CCTV cameras in 1,000 schools in the state. These would be installed in the girls’ high schools on a priority basis, he added.
