Uttarakhand: Three Officials Booked For Negligence After 6-Year-Old Dies Of Snake Bite At Nainital Quarantine Center

Three government officials were booked for negligence over the death of a six-year-old girl caused by snakebite in a quarantine centre in Nainital.

The girl identified as Anjali along with four of her family members had arrived from Delhi and were kept under quarantine in a government primary school at Talli Sethi village in a remote area of Nainital district.

On May 25, just a day before they were scheduled to leave for their home from the quarantine centre, the little girl was bitten by a snake leading to her untimely demise.

The three officials of the Uttarakhand Government were taken into custody after the victims' uncle Khim Singh filed a complaint against them for their due negligence in the whole matter.

Khim Singh alleged that he had informed the quarantine in-charge and revenue sub-inspector, Rajpal Singh over the fear of being attacked by a snake as the campus was surrounded by a thicket of bushes, but his warning was not taken seriously by the officials.

The investigation into the conduct of the three officials was further taken up by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Richa Singh. The investigation revealed that negligence had been observed by Karan Singh, a school teacher, Rajpal Singh, revenue officer, and Umesh Joshi, village development officer, who were on duty at the quarantine centre.

"Negligence of three officials has come to fore in this incident. Neither did they reach the spot after the incident came to light nor did they inform their higher authorities about it," said Richa Singh, SDM Koshyakutoli in Nainital district in a report by Hindusthan Times.

It was also revealed that revenue officer Rajpal Singh neither picked up calls by the victim's family after the incident occurred nor did he pass on the information of the death to his seniors. While Umesh Joshi and Karan Singh were even unaware of the incident until afternoon.

The girl was taken to a Community Health Centre where she was declared dead in the afternoon. Such negligence of duty was condemned by the District Magistrate of Nainital, Savin Bansal who has now directed the district development officer, education officer, etc to ensure the due presence of those deployed in quarantine facilities through video conference.

Meanwhile, Bijulal, the divisional forest officer (DFO) Nainital promised that the family of the girl will be provided a compensation of Rs 3 lakh for their loss.

Also Read: No Electricity, Filthy Toilets: Doctors Release Video Of Quarantine Centre In UP