Kargil martyr widow dies as hospital insists on Aadhaar card

Chandigarh: Widow of a Kargil martyr died at a private hospital in Haryana’s Sonipat after the medical staff allegedly refused to admit her for not carrying her Aadhaar card, forcing the state government to order an inquiry into the matter today. Talking to media at Ambala, Health Minister Anil Vij said a team of health department has been sent to Sonipat to collect the details of the incident.

“Shakuntala Devi (55), widow of Kargil war martyr Havaldar Laxman Dass, died on Thursday for want of medical care at a private hospital as it insisted on having the patient’s Aadhaar card,” her son Pawan Kumar Balyan told PTI over phone. 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 that I have forgotten it and will get it soon from my home, and requested them to start the treatment. But, the hospital authorities insisted on providing 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 create a scene in 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. Meanwhile, Abhimanyu Kumar of Tulip Multispeciality Hospital, Sonipat, said they insist on Aadhaar cards, but denied the allegations that they were not ready to admit Devi. “We wanted to treat the woman, but her family members decided to take her away,” he said.

Policeman Srikrishan, who was at the spot when the incident took place, said the hospital authorities had requested Balyan to get the ailing woman admitted. “Balyan seemed upset by the attitude shown to him by the hospital staff and preferred to leave with his mother,” he 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.