Tribal woman, baby die in Kerala forest allegedly after family refuses medical aid

A woman and her newborn child belonging to a vulnerable tribal group in Kerala’s Nilambur forests passed away on Tuesday, after her family had allegedly not sought medical aid, despite health officials advising them to do so, sources told PTI on Tuesday. The woman was 38 years old.

The incident was reported from Mannala, more than 10 km deep inside the forest, from Nedumkayam near Karulai in Nilambur.

According to official sources, health officials and police came to know about the death of the woman, identified as Nisha, two days later.

Nisha, a mother of two, died last Thursday soon after she delivered a baby boy. She would have died of labour related complications, they said.

Police said that the family did not report the incident to the police or take the woman to a hospital, considering it as natural death.

The woman was buried in the forests soon after her death.

Health officials reached Mannala on Saturday, hearing about the death of Nisha, wife of Mahanan, belonging to the Cholanaikkan tribe, categorised as a vulnerable tribal group by the Government of India.

The officials examined the child who was alive then and was with its grandmother. "But two days later, we came to know about the death of the newborn," a source, aware of the development, told PTI.

According to the information, the baby boy died on Saturday night and he was also buried inside the forest, sources said.

"The baby was not so weak. The reason for the baby's death is not known as it was also buried without conducting the autopsy," they said.

Sources said that the deceased woman was approached by health officials last week. She was advised to seek medical help after she was examined by a mobile medical team last Wednesday during their routine rounds in the tribal hamlets of Nilambur forests, they said.

"The woman did not have an idea whether she was on the last stage of her pregnancy. However, considering the risk involved, we had advised them to reach hospital on Thursday arranging a vehicle. We also had informed them that the taxi bill will be paid by us. But they did not turn up," the sources said.

Officials said that the Cholanaikkan community, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes of the region, still lack awareness on the importance of institutional delivery and did not seek medical assistance.

(With PTI input)

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