New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) A 40-year-old woman, who was an inmate of a government-run observation home for the mentally challenged, died Wednesday at a city hospital.

The woman, identified as Pammo, died at 2 a.m. Wednesday at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital where she was undergoing treatment, police officials said. Hospital authorities said she died a 'natural death'.

Pammo, who was mentally challenged, was admitted to the Ashakiran Home in northwest Delhi's Rohini area in 1978. She was taken to the hospital about 15 days ago after she had suffered a bout of fits.

As many as 30 deaths of inmates from Ashakiran have been reported in the past five months. This has triggered widespread public anger and the government was also hauled up for shoddy upkeep of the home by the National Human Rights Commission.