The State government on Tuesday suspended the District Women and Child Welfare and Empowerment Officer, M. Nagamani, for failure to provide proper healthcare to a two-month-old boy at a Shishu Gruha in Anantapur, recently.

Niroop, the two-month-old boy, was brought to the Shishu Gruha on September 30 and he died on October 3. There were allegations that the baby was not fed properly by the ‘ayah’ and after his death, the dead body was buried without informing the higher officials. A three-man committee was formed to enquire into the incident and based on the report, the State government on Tuesday issued a Government Order (GO) suspending Ms. Nagamani.

In the GO, the government said that as per the report, the infant was under regular supervision by the staff of the Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) and was considered medically stable, though underweight. “The child died unexpectedly on October 3 due to loose stools. There is no immediate intimation on the hospitalisation and death of the child by District Women and Child Welfare Officer and it was reported after news came out in newspapers,” the report pointed out.

This shows negligence, misconduct, monitoring failure and lack of devotion on part of Ms. Nagamani, violating Rule 3 of C.C.A and conduct rules of A.P., the report said, and recommended immediate suspension of Ms. Nagamani and disciplinary action.

Following the recommendation, the government issued orders suspending Ms. Nagamani with immediate effect until further orders. Ms. Nagamani should not leave headquarters without obtaining the prior permission from the competent authority, the GO said.