The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered that ₹3 lakh be paid as compensation to the mother of Manu Robertson, a Class IX student of Bharathannoor HSS, who died allegedly after consuming de-worming tablets which were distributed from school as part of the National De-worming Day, on August 11, 2016.
The SHRC has directed that the amount be given from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The order says that the child’s mother is free to approach the civil court for seeing a higher compensation amount.
The child’s mother, Ajitha, who is the complainant, claimed that the boy had shown signs of fever and fits soon after consuming the drug, inspite of which he was forced to take part in NCC activities.
The boy’s condition worsened later in the evening and he passed away the next-day morning.
The government’s argument that the de-worming tablet was not the cause of death was substantiated by the post-mortem report that said the child had died of dengue viral infection.
The SHRC, however, chose to back the argument of the child’s family that till the child had the de-worming drug, he was perfectly normal and that he had no health issues. And hence, it would have to be concluded that the de-worming drug was the cause of death, the SHRC order said.
The Revenue Secretary has been asked to pay the money within two months.
