Toothless NHRC Reviews Covid Treatment in Delhi. Court Case Filed to Reimpose Lockdown

Delhi High Court has observed that the national capital Delhi is fast heading towards becoming the “corona capital” of the country.

By Rakesh Raman

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India – which is an ineffective, toothless body – is ostensibly trying to take stock of the deteriorating healthcare infrastructure in India’s capital New Delhi which has become the epicenter of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.

In a perfunctory exercise, a team led by NHRC Member, Ms Jyotika Kalra visited Delhi’s Covid-designated Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital for an on-the-spot assessment of the facilities for Covid care.

The NHRC action was in response to a slew of allegations that despite beds the patients were being denied admission and treatment. According to a loose NHRC statement released Thursday (June 11), the hospital administration said there are hardly any lapses in dealing with the Covid patients.

However, independent reports suggest that LNJP hospital continues to be in a bad shape with callous staff that misbehaves with the patients. Some videos of the hospital have also emerged on social media, which show sorry state of medical care and services provided to Corona patients.

[ Covid Connect: Free Covid Support Service for Delhi Residents ]

The videos also show dead bodies lying on the hospital floor and Covid patients left unattended by the hospital staff. But instead of taking a legal / punitive action against the hospital administration, the NHRC preferred to accept the administration’s cock-and-bull story and virtually closed the case.

Meanwhile, with the increasing number of cases and deaths, Delhi is emerging as the most infected national capital in the world. Although the Delhi Government headed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is hiding the actual number of Covid cases and deaths to downplay the effect of virus, it is expected that by July-end Delhi will have at least 500,000 Covid cases.

As 6% of the Covid patients die on average, nearly 30,000 of people are expected to die of coronavirus in Delhi during the next couple of months. Delhi High Court observed on June 11 that the national capital Delhi is fast heading towards becoming the “corona capital” of the country.

As the Delhi Government has completely neglected the health concerns of the citizens, a public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the High Court seeking a direction to the Delhi Government to impose a strict lockdown in the national capital in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

In the plea, according to Times of India news site, it has been contended that when Delhi Government has admitted that there would be around 100,000 Covid-19 cases in the national capital by end of June, and the number would escalate to over 550,000 by July 31, the government should consider reimposing strict lockdown in the national capital.

Note: I have been facing increasing threats including death threats for my editorial and anti-corruption work. Recently, the NHRC issued a notice to the Commissioner of Delhi Police to protect me and my rights as a journalist, but Delhi Police did not respond.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects. These publications include the “Covid Health Bulletin” that covers global coronavirus news and views.