Man dies during PM's PGIMER visit, police shrug off blame

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Nov 3 : The Chandigarh police Tuesday sought to clarify that they had no responsibility for the death of a kidney patient who allegedly died outside Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here because the security measures for the prime minister's visit barred the entry to the hospital.

"After getting the information, an executive magistrate was deputed to conduct an enquiry. As per the findings, there was no lapse on the part of security personnel. In fact, the patient was attended to by doctors and he died during the treatment," according to a police statement, issued here late Tuesday evening.

"Tight security arrangements were made for the visiting VVIP but the normal traffic was not at all disturbed. Traffic was stopped only for a few minutes at only one gate," the statement added.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Tuesday sought a report from PGIMER on the death of this patient, who could not enter the hospital because of security measures in place for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit.

"The PMO is saddened at the death of a patient at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research today during the visit of the prime minister. A full report has been asked for," said a senior official Tuesday.

Sumit Prakash Verma, 32, died after the vehicle carrying him could not enter the emergency area of the PGIMER in time for treatment, his relatives said.

They alleged that their vehicle carrying Verma from Ambala, 45 km from Chandigarh, was stopped at different gates of the institute, due to which crucial time was wasted.

"We came near the PGIMER when the prime minister's motorcade was entering. The road near the emergency was sealed by police and we were told to use another gate. At that gate, we were told to go to a third place and then directed to go to the original gate. This delayed our reaching the hospital and he died," Richa Verma, a relative, told reporters.

Sources in the PMO told IANS that security personnel could not gauge how critical Verma was as he was not travelling in an ambulance.

Verma was suffering from a major kidney ailment and had breathing trouble. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Manmohan Singh was here for the 30th convocation of the PGIMER.

However, the hospital's security officials maintained that they did not stop any vehicle from entering the premises.

"We did not stop any person or any vehicle from entering PGIMER. Heavy security was deployed, but our officials did not harass anybody unnecessarily," P.C. Sharma, PGIMER's in-charge, told IANS Tuesday evening.

--IANS