PM 'deeply regrets' Chandigarh man's death

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Nov 4 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday expressed his "profound sense of sadness" over the death of a man at the PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh for want of timely treatment due to security restrictions in place for his visit there.

The family of Sumit Verma, 32, has demanded compensation and a job for his kin.

In a letter to the victim's wife, the prime minister said: "I am writing to you to express my profound sense of sadness at the death of your husband yesterday. I understand that he could not get access to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, in time because of the restrictions in place for my visit there."

Manmohan Singh said he had ordered the authorities to be sensitive to the concerns of common people while imposing security restrictions.

"This is something I deeply regret. 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 said.

Verma died Tuesday after the vehicle carrying him to the PGIMER could not enter the emergency area in time for treatment, his relatives alleged.

Manmohan Singh was then visiting the hospital for its 30th convocation.

The victim's family Wednesday sought to absolve the prime minister of responsibility for Verma's death and blamed his elite Special Protection Group (SPG) and other security agencies for the incident.

"We don't hold him (prime minister) responsible. It is his security which is at fault," one of Verma's relatives said.

Verma was Wednesday cremated by the family. He is survived by his wife and two minor children. His family has sought compensation for his death and a job for his kin.

"We want the government to do something for the family. He was the only breadwinner. What will they do now?" Verma's nephew Dheeraj said after the cremation in Ambala.

Authorities and police have denied that the stringent security had anything to do with his death. Tight security measures were in place and some roads and parking areas were blocked by the police during the prime minister's six-hour visit to the city.

Many complained that they could not access the hospital even as the prime minister was telling PGIMER faculty and doctors during the function to reach out to the common man.

PGIMER's chief security officer P.C. Sharma said that during the prime minister's visit, no patient was stopped from entering the institute, regarded as one of the best public sector medical facilities in north-western India.

"They could have been diverted to the wrong gate. No one was stopped from entering the PGIMER," Sharma told IANS.

The Chandigarh police also claimed that the patient's car was not stopped. A police spokesperson said the vehicle was, in fact, escorted to the emergency wing of the PGIMER.

Police claim that the PGIMER emergency catered to 32 patients between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday compared to an average of 22 patients since Oct 31. The prime minister was in the complex from 11.30 a.m. till 2.30 p.m.