Three children have died while 12 have fallen ill at a shelter home in Madhya Pradesh's Indore in the last two days, an official said on Tuesday.

Karan (12), Akash (7) and Shubh (8), all inmates of Bal Ashram of Shri Yugpurush Dham in the Malharganj police station area, died on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Alok Kumar Sharma said earlier.

The official said the exact cause of these deaths will be known once the post-mortem reports arrive.

According to officials, more than 200 children, including orphans and those suffering from mental ailments, are housed in the shelter home.

Twelve children from the facility were admitted to the government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital (MYH) with complaints of vomiting and diarrhoea, the hospital's superintendent, Dr Ashok Yadav, said.

Two children are in critical condition due to lack of water in the body, he said, adding that all ailing children are under 14 years.

Indore collector Ashish Singh visited MYH to enquire about the children.

"According to doctors, prima facie, it appears to be a case of food poisoning. A team, led by the additional district magistrate, comprising doctors and officials of the food department has been sent to the Bal Ashram for investigation," Singh said.

The 12-year-old boy, who died at the facility run by an NGO, suffered brain seizures, and suspected food poisoning had nothing to do with his death, the official said.

After the uproar caused by the death of three children, a joint team of different departments of the administration reached the Bal Ashram and started the investigation.

Talking to reporters, additional district magistrate Rajendra Singh Raghuvanshi, who led the team, said that of 204 children housed in the Bal Ashram, three have died in the last 48 hours.

"A detailed investigation of the shelter is underway. Appropriate action will be taken if the investigation finds any negligence on the part of its directors," he said.

He said that the team from the food department collected samples of food and ration from the ashram and sent them for testing.

The management of Shri Yugpurush Dham has written to the Child Welfare Committee, claiming that ten inmates have "blood infection", officials said.

However, the administration has not yet verified the management's claim, it was stated.

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