Revelation from records of Ujjain District Hospital and Electric Crematorium:After 10 deaths in Indore, 86 children were shifted to Ujjain’s Sevadham Ashram; 17 of them died within a year

In Madhya Pradesh, all is not well in ashrams run in the name of caring for specially-abled, orphaned children and elderly people. Nearly a year ago, after the death of 10 children, the Yugpurush Ashram in Indore was shut down. Citing better care, 86 children from there were shifted to Sevadham Ashram in Ujjain. The shocking fact is that out of these 86 children, 17 have died. Not only this, the cause of death for all has been reported as the same — “breathing difficulty.” This revelation has come to light after examining records of the Ujjain District Hospital and the electric crematorium. It has raised serious questions about the care, treatment and monitoring of children in such ashrams in Madhya Pradesh. It is notable that on December 25, 2024, on the directions of the state government, the Yugpurush Ashram in Indore was closed. The reason was that in June–July 2024, 10 children had died of cholera in the ashram. A government inquiry had revealed that the ashram had reported only 5 deaths, while the bodies of 5 children were handed over to families without post-mortem. After the Yugpurush Ashram was closed, the 86 special children (34 boys and 52 girls) living there were shifted to Ujjain. Their age ranged between 5 and 23 years. Within a month of shifting — from January 23, 2025 — the series of deaths began. Records of the electric crematorium in Ujjain confirm, through the names recorded, that 17 of the 86 transferred children have died. After complaints of breathing difficulty, these children were admitted to the district hospital for treatment. Big question: If the record was already poor, why were children sent here? In 2022 as well, five children had died within a week at Sevadham Ashram. Despite this, the decision to shift children here is also being questioned. According to records, between January 2025 and January 2026, 38 people have died in this ashram. 13-year-old Rahul missing for 18 days… A 13-year-old Rahul, who was shifted from the Indore ashram to Sevadham, has been missing for 18 days. He left the ashram without informing anyone on February 5, 2026. The ashram management has registered a missing complaint at Bhairavgarh Police Station. Not a single month passed without a death Name — Date of death Suhani (18) — January 23, 2025 Kavisha (8) — February 18, 2025 Vinita (18) — March 11, 2025 Kiran (19) — April 13, 2025 Himani (13) — May 6, 2025 Bablu (7) — June 28, 2025 Sandesh (10) — July 23, 2025 Dhwani Parul (12) — August 6, 2025 Parvati (20) — September 14, 2025 Kartik (7) — October 16, 2025 Kumkum (18) — October 26, 2025 Swarna (12) — November 11, 2025 Chhotu alias Atal (18) — November 20, 2025 Krishna Sahu (19) — December 7, 2025 Niharika (19) — December 24, 2025 Pawan (16) — December 27, 2025 Khushi (17) — January 13, 2026 Ashram operator’s argument — children were already in poor condition Sudhir Goyal, the operator of Sevadham Ashram, says that the condition of the children brought here was already poor. Most children were suffering from multiple disabilities, epilepsy, TB, infections and other serious diseases. Goyal claims that after a death, the concerned police station is informed and a post-mortem is conducted, and the last rites are not performed without a post-mortem. Detailed report will be sought from the Collector “We are considering shifting children suffering from serious illnesses to other ashrams. A letter is being written to the Collector asking under what circumstances these children died and to submit a detailed report. Health check-ups of the children who are alive are also being conducted.”