The Chhattisgarh High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a news report published in a Hindi daily highlighting the tragic death of a three-year-old girl, who sustained a fatal head injury after being struck by an iron pipe unlawfully dumped within the premises of an Anganwadi at Talapara.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru expressed serious concern over the incident and directed the District Magistrate, Bilaspur, to file a personal affidavit by the next hearing. The affidavit is to specify the steps taken in connection with the incident, identify the responsibility of the officials concerned, and outline the action initiated or proposed against those at fault.
The Court also directed that the affidavit disclose whether compensation has been paid to the victim’s family and, if not, clarify the stage at which such consideration currently stands, along with the preventive measures being implemented to avoid recurrence of such accidents in Anganwadi centres.
According to the report, the iron pipe, dumped along with other DJ equipment, fell on the child while she was playing. She was rushed to the District Hospital and later referred to CIMS, but tragically succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
The State submitted that the DJ equipment had been unlawfully placed in the Anganwadi premises by a relative of one of its employees, which directly caused the accident. It further informed the Court that criminal proceedings have been initiated against the individual concerned.
The report also revealed that the Women and Child Development Department and local police initially attempted to suppress the incident, and only after the post-mortem confirmed head injury as the cause of death was an FIR registered against the DJ operator.
The matter is now scheduled for further hearing on August 26, 2025.
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