55-year-old Shakuntala Devi was the wife of Havaldar Laxman Dass who died in the Kargil War in 1999
The widow of a soldier killed in the Kargil War died in Haryana after allegedly being refused treatment in a hospital as she did not have her Aadhar card with her.
55-year-old Shakuntala Devi, the wife of Havaldar Laxman Dass who died in the Kargil War in 1999, was suffering from a heart problem and was taken to the Tulip Hospital in Haryana's Sonipat. There, the staff allegedly asked for her Aadhar card, and upon being told that she had forgotten it, they reportedly refused to start the treatment till it was shown to them.
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar told news agency ANI that the government will conduct an inquiry into the matter and that the guilty will be punished. Ashwini Kumar Choubey, the Minister of State of Health, urged the state government to take the matter seriously and added that his ministry will also conduct a probe into it.
"The centre has also asked all states to implement 'Clinical Establishments Act' which will help us reduce such incidents" Mr Choubey added.
According to Shakuntala Devi's son Pawan Kumar Balyan, when he took his mother to the Tulip hospital, he was asked to produce her Aadhar card.
"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," Mr Balyan told news agency PTI.
"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.
He said he then took her to the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme Hospital, where she died the same evening.
An official of Tulip Hospital, however, denied allegations that they refused treatment to Shakuntala Devi.
"We wanted to treat the woman, but her family members decided to take her away," he said.
According to a police officer present in the hospital, the staff had requested Mr Balyan to admit the ailing woman. But Mr Balyan was upset by the attitude shown to him by the hospital staff and decided to leave with his mother, the officer said.
With inputs from PTI