MP: CJP’s Abhijit Dipke visits Balaghat tribal villages, demands accountability over child deaths

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijit Dipke on Saturday visited tribal villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district to meet families who recently lost their children to infectious diseases and demanded accountability from the administration.

Accompanied by local youth, Dipke visited Adori, Korka and Bondari villages to gather information about healthcare facilities and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

His visit came days after the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notices to the state government over the deaths of more than 30 children, allegedly due to infectious diseases.

The notices were issued while hearing a public interest litigation that alleged overcrowded hospitals, contaminated drinking water and inadequate nutrition in the affected areas.

Speaking to reporters, Dipke said, “We completely sympathise with families who have lost their children and will definitely come forward to ensure justice for them.”

He questioned the administration’s response, claiming that authorities had acknowledged the number of deaths but had neither fixed responsibility nor taken action against any official.

“We have come only to fix responsibility and accountability,” he said.

Earlier this week, a division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal sought responses from the state Health Department, Women and Child Development Department, Balaghat collector and other authorities.

The PIL alleged that children were not receiving adequate medical treatment and claimed that around 400 children were being treated at a hospital with a capacity of just 50 beds.

It also alleged that yellow-coloured water was coming from handpumps in the affected villages and that children and women had not received nutritious food on time for several months.

The court proceedings and Dipke’s visit have brought renewed attention to healthcare and basic services in Balaghat’s tribal areas, with questions being raised over whether administrative lapses contributed to the deaths.