A 42-year-old man has allegedly died due to starvation in a village in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district. The death happened a day after the state government claimed in the Jharkhand assembly that the state does not have a history of ‘hunger deaths.’

While the district authorities have blamed ‘prolonged illness’, his family alleges starvation as the cause of the death.

The man, identified as Bhukhal Ghasi, reportedly did not have a ration card or an Ayushman card.

His wife, Rekha Devi, claimed that the family of seven people, including two sons and three daughters, had not eaten for four days.

However, Mukesh Kumar – Bokaro’s District Commissioner said that Ghasi was ‘anaemic and under doctor’s observation.’ He also alleged that Ghasi used to work in Bengaluru and returned to the state six months ago after falling ill.

Kumar has said that the entire family suffers from anaemia and the block development officer has been asked to provide benefits under the Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana for widows.

He said that his wife will receive complete treatment on the government’s fund.

Soon after the news broke, Jharkhand CM, Heman Soren, took to Twitter and wrote that the guilty will be punished and asked the Bokaro district collector to take stock of the matter and provide relief to kin’s family.

The Bokaro district collector soon responded to the tweet saying that a team has met the family.

According to reports, there were 23 deaths due to starvation and non-availability of subsidised food grains in the state between 2015-2019.Also Read: Another Starvation Death In Jharkhand, 40-Yr-Old Man Dies After Starving For Over 10 Days