PM regrets man’s death at PGIMER
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday expressed regret over the death of a man, who could not be given timely medical care, due to the security arrangements during his (PM’s) visit to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.
The PM also instructed the security agencies to be more sensitive to the common people’s convenience while making arrangements for the visits of the VIPs.
The Congress, which leads the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), too said that it was the responsibility of the security agencies to ensure that common people did not suffer due to arrangements made for the VIPs.
An official of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that Singh had written to the wife of Sumit Prakash Verma and expressed his profound regret over the death of her husband.
Verma, 32, was suffering from renal ailments. His family members brought him all the way from Ambala to the PGIMER in Chandigarh on Tuesday. But policemen guarding the premises for the PM’s visit to the institution kept diverting the vehicle he was brought in.
This resulted in delay that allegedly resulted in the death of Verma, who is survived by his wife and two children. “I am writing to you to express my profound sense of sadness at the death of your husband yesterday under unfortunate circumstances,” the PM wrote to the wife of Verma.
The PM was at the PGIMER to attend the convocation ceremony of the premier medical research institution. “I have issued instructions so that in future authorities are more sensitive to the concerns of the common man while imposing such restrictions for reasons of security," he added in his letter.
The PMO had immediately ordered a probe after reports about the tragic death of Verma appeared on the media.
The All India Congress Committee spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said that the security agencies should make arrangements in such a way so that common people did not experience much inconvenience.
