Dipke visits families in M.P.’s Balaghat, puts lens on tribal children’s deaths

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), visited tribal villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district on Saturday to meet families of children who died from monsoon-related illnesses and lack of healthcare access. Dipke, who met several families, said the children could have been saved if they had received timely treatment.

He accused the government of negligence for the deaths and claimed the actual number of fatalities is higher than officially reported (36). Dipke alleged that children are being cremated without post-mortems and without parental presence. Earlier, he stated he came to Balaghat to fix accountability and ensure justice for the families.

Over 30 children have died in various villages of the Birsa block due to diseases like measles, malaria, respiratory illness, malnutrition, anaemia, and dehydration over the past two and a half months. Balaghat Collector Kumar Satyam told The Hindu that while the Chief Minister sanctioned financial assistance, the deaths cannot be attributed to a single disease.

Health screenings were conducted in 40 villages of the Birsa block, and the administration's outreach has gained local trust. Dipke accused the BJP government of detaining tribal students coordinating his visit and criticized the government for its delayed response to the crisis.