The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to Puri District Collector and Superintendent of Police on the death of a toddler due to snakebite at the premises of Astaranga police station in Odisha’s Puri district.

The top rights panel passed the order on Thursday in response to a petition filed by human rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy.

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A two-year-old toddler died of snakebite at Astaranga police station while her mother had gone to the police station with the baby to lodge a complaint on 27 May.

”Unsafe environment and proper vigil at the police station led to the kid’s tragic death. The Police officials were found wanting in immediately shifting the child to a nearby hospital. If police would have acted in time, the precious life could have been saved. It is the responsibility of the officials to keep the workplace safe. Neither investigation has been conducted in the case nor has compensation been paid to the mother of the deceased,” the petition alleged.

The petitioner, Tripathy sought for a safe environment in all the police stations with childcare facilities to avert recurrence of such tragedy in future.

“The Commission shall be constrained to invoke coercive process u/s 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 calling for a personal appearance of the authority concerned for submission of the report, in case the report is not received within the stipulated time”, the NHRC directed in an order on 13 June.