Alappuzha toddler’s death suspected to be linked to malnutrition; tests to confirm cause
A two-year-old boy was found dead at his home in Alappuzha on Sunday in what the police suspect may be a case of malnutrition. The Trikkunnapuzha police said doctors described the child as “acutely anaemic” and appearing malnourished.
The officer said the boy weighed 7.6 kg, while the normal weight for a child of his age would be closer to 12 kg. A histopathology test will confirm whether the toddler’s condition and death were caused by an illness or by malnourishment, the officer said. Histopathology involves the examination of tissue samples to identify disease.
Police have registered a case of unnatural death. The officer said the future course of action would be decided after the histopathology test results are available. A case of unnatural death is registered when the circumstances of a death are not immediately clear; it does not by itself establish that a crime has been committed. The child is not being named to protect the family’s privacy.
According to the police, the child’s father is an autorickshaw driver and lives with his wife in Karthikappally. The couple has five other children, including a newborn. One of their children had died earlier, the officer said. The police did not provide further details about the earlier death.
The mother was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital at Vandanam on Saturday for childbirth, and the children were at home with their father. On Sunday morning, the father found the two-year-old boy dead, the police said.
The Child Welfare Committee took the remaining children into its care, the officer said. Child welfare committees are statutory bodies under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and can direct that children in need of care and protection be placed in temporary care while inquiries are conducted.
The police also said the couple and their children had earlier been moved to a shelter home, Gandhibhavan, in view of their poor living conditions. “However, they created problems there and returned to their home here,” the officer said, without giving details. The officer did not say what follow-up support was provided after the family returned home.
The case comes amid continuing public health concerns about child malnutrition. Malnutrition is a condition caused by insufficient or unbalanced food intake. In children, it can lead to low weight, weakness and increased vulnerability to illness. Health experts note that acute anaemia and low weight can have multiple causes and require medical investigation. The police have stressed that the histopathology report is awaited and that no final conclusion has been drawn about the cause of death.
The Child Welfare Committee’s decision to take the other children into care is aimed at ensuring their safety and well-being while the circumstances of the death are investigated. The police said further action would follow the medical report.
