Acute malnutrition led to death of 3 sisters in Delhi, say doctors

New Delhi: The three sisters who were found dead in east Delhi's Mandawali area on Tuesday were starved to death. The doctors revealed on Thursday that severe malnutrition was the main cause for their deaths. 

“There was no trace of fat on their bodies. Postmortem showed the stomach was absolutely empty. It’s a case of gross malnutrition,” Dr Amita Saxena, the MS of Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital told Hindustan Times.

The sisters were brought to the hospital by their mother and a neighbour at around 1 pm on Tuesday. The sisters were aged two, four and eight respectively and were declared brought dead to the hospital. Reports stated the girls had been starved for eight days.

According to reports, the mother was mentally unstable and when she was questioned about the condition of the children, she said, "Give me food..," and almost collapsed, reported NDTV.

"The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial probe into the matter," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said in a tweet.

Read: BJP, Congress slams Delhi govt after 3 sisters found dead due to ‘hunger’

A forensic team had earlier inspected the family's residence and found some medicine bottles and pills for treating loose motion, police said.

The girls' father, a labourer, is missing since Tuesday, though locals said he had gone in search of work and would return in a couple of days. 

Two of the sisters, aged two and four, had been unwell for a few days. They had bouts of vomiting and loose motion, the locals said.

Police are probing as to how the third one also fell ill suddenly.

The AAP government ordered a magisterial probe in the case. However, the BJP and Congress did not spare the Kejriwal-led party and slammed them for depriving the common man of ration cards. 

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that it is "sad" that such a "mishap" occurred in Delhi where the local government claims to champion ration distribution to the poor.