On Sunday, Dr. N K Das, State minister of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha, sought a report from the Keonjhar district administration regarding the deaths of 13 children in a span of 18 days due to alleged negligence at the pediatric ward of a state-run hospital.

The minister took action after a large number of people at the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital staged a protest demanding action against doctors whose alleged negligence led to the deaths of their children. In the meantime, senior police and health officials rushed to pacify the agitators after they had started attacking public properties at the hospital.

Dr. Das stated that though it is an unfortunate incident, they must ascertain the cause of the death. According to the relatives of the deceased children, on Saturday, the alleged doctor did not visit the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU), leading to the death of their critically ill children. On the other hand, the Additional District Medical Officer of Keonjhar district, Dr. Kishore Prusty, admitted that three children have died in the last 24 hours.