Haryana helps kin of man who died at Chandigarh hospital

Chandigarh, Nov 4 : The Haryana government Wednesday gave a cheque of Rs.200,000 to the aggrieved family of the 32-year-old man who died Tuesday at the gate of a hospital here because the security for the prime minister's visit hindered his access to timely medical treatment.

"Ambala deputy commissioner (DC) has delivered a cheque of Rs.200,000 to the family members of Sumit Prakash Verma. They have also promised free education up to Class 12 for Sumit's two sons -- 12-year-old Chirag and six year-old Saran," Dheeraj Verma, nephew of Sumit Prakash Verma, told IANS late Wednesday evening.

"During the meeting with the DC, we had urged the district administration to provide a government job for Sumit's wife Isha Verma, so that she can properly look after her family in the coming years," Dheeraj Verma said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday wrote to Sumit Prakash Verma's family and expressed his regrets.

"The prime minister wrote to his family and expressed regret (over the death)," an official at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told IANS.

The official added that the prime minister said the death occurred under unfortunate circumstances.

Sumit Prakash Verma died Tuesday after the vehicle carrying him to the PGIMER Chandigarh could not enter the emergency area in time for treatment, his relatives alleged. The prime minister was at the time visiting the medical college and hospital for its 30th convocation.

The family of Verma, who was suffering from a major kidney ailment and had breathing trouble, alleged that their vehicle that had come from Ambala, 45 km from Chandigarh, was stopped at different gates of the institute by overzealous securitymen, leading to wastage of crucial time.

The victim's family, however, 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.

--IANS