Kargil widow dies: Hospital wanted Aadhaar card to start treatment

 

The wife of a soldier, who was killed in Kargil, died in a private hospital in Sonipat after the medical staff allegedly refused to admit her for not carrying her Aadhaar card.

In Karnal, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said an inquiry would be conducted. “I have received information about it. We will conduct an inquiry and punish those found guilty,” he told

“Shakuntala Devi (55), a widow of Kargil war martyr Havaldar Laxman Dass, died on Thursday for want of medical care in a private hospital as it insisted on having the patient’s Aadhaar card,” her son Pawan Kumar Balyan told
Balyan, a resident of Mahlana village in Sonipat, said his mother was suffering from a heart problem.

“I took her to the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) Hospital in Sonipat and got the referral slip for Tulip Hospital on Thursday,” he said.

“At the counter of the hospital, the authorities asked me to give the Aadhaar card of my ailing mother so that she could be admitted for treatment. I told them I had forgotten it and would get it soon from my home, and requested them to start the treatment. But the hospital authorities insisted on the Aadhaar card,” Balyan said.

“After about half-an-hour of argument with the hospital authorities, I decided to leave the place with my mother,” he said, adding that “the hospital authorities also called up police who asked me not to make a scene on the hospital premises”.

“I brought back my mother to ECHS Sonipat where she died the same evening,” Balyan said.

“I have given a written complaint about the matter to ECHS authorities who visited my house from Ambala,” he said.

Abhimanyu Kumar of Tulip Multi-speciality Hospital said they do insist on Aadhaar cards, but denied the allegation that they were not ready to admit Shakuntala Devi. “We wanted to treat the woman, but her family members decided to take her away,” he said.

“Balyan seemed upset by the attitude of the hospital staff and preferred to leave with his mother,” Police said.

Shakuntala Devi was the wife of Havaldar Laxman Dass who was posted with the 8th Jat Regiment in Muskoh valley near Kargil. He died of bullet injuries during a gun battle with intruders on June 9, 1999.