The police in Bihar’s capital Patna on Sunday said they were investigating the deaths of two inmates at a state-run shelter for women with mental disabilities, NDTV reported. A medical board has also been constituted to conduct inquiries.

The police said five people had been detained in connection with the case and were being questioned by the district magistrate and the senior superintendent of police, ANI reported.

The deceased – a 40-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl – were taken to a hospital on Friday. “While the shelter claimed the inmates died during treatment at Patna Medical College, the hospital authorities said they were brought dead,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Sudhanshu. “We were informed about the deaths on Sunday morning.”

The shelter, where 40 inmates live at present, was opened on May 1. Its administration told the police that the inmates died of diarrhoea.

“Prima facie they seemed to have fever and diarrhoea,” said Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi. “Further details will be revealed after a medical report comes. Matter is being investigated. We will also look at their medical history and postmortem reports.”

The investigators have requested for another autopsy of one of the bodies. “People in the organisation are being questioned, and action will be taken against those at fault,” Ravi added.

On Friday, the police arrested a 50-year-old employee at the shelter for helping inmates escape the facility. The incident comes within weeks of the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case. At that shelter, 34 girls were allegedly sexually assaulted.