Jharkhand family claims starvation death, minister says

A family in Jharkhand's Giridih district has alleged that one of its members died of starvation, but state's Food and Civil Supplies minister Saryu Roy Thursday said official reports on the incident deny the claim.

The minister said a perfectly laid out protocol to prevent death due to starvation is in place in the state.

Ramesh Turi of Chirudih in Giridih district had told the media that his 48-year-old wife Savitri died of starvation on Tuesday last.

Not buying the claim, the minister said, "there is a perfect protocol to give ration under the Annapurna Yojana to the needy even if they dont have ration cards, there are grain bank and Rs 10,000 is given to Mukhias who can be approached for assistance.

"The officials deny the report of starvation death," Roy told PTI, citing "ambiguity" in the media reports.

He, however, said "if the (starvation) report is true then certainly responsibility will be fixed."