The Asian Age: New Delhi:
Friday, February 08, 2013.
The National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday issued a notice to the Union health
secretary on a complaint alleging that three big government hospitals in Delhi
conducted illegal clinical drug trials on 3,479 children during the last five
years.
The
commission’s notice cited illegal clinical trials allegedly conducted on 2,056
children at Safdarjung Hospital, 1,023 children in Kalawati Saran Children’s
Hospital and 400 children at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital.
An official
release from the NHRC said that the commission had received a complaint in this
regard from an NGO. In its petition, the NGO had claimed that it got the information
regarding the illegal clinical trials in these hospitals through RTI.
The NGO
representative R.H. Bansal had also alleged that the hospitals did not take
parents’ approval for subjecting their children to clinical trials and said
that it was an illegal and punishable act.
The petition
also stated that it violated the human rights of the innocent children.
The
commission has asked the secretary, Union ministry of health and family welfare
to respond to its notice within four weeks.
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