The large scale violence perpetrated in pretext of protesting against Supreme Court’s directives seeking to prevent its possible misuse of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, has resulted in at least nine deaths so far. Besides these deaths and all round destruction to public and private property, the Dalit protests have also resulted in heart wrenching personal losses for common citizens.
As reported, a critically ill father aged 68 was being taken to the hospital by his son in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district on Monday. During this journey, their ambulance got stuck about a Kilometre away from the hospital owing to the Dalit protests. As per local reports, the son Raghuwar Singh and his mother pleaded with the protesters to let the ambulance pass, but they supposedly didn’t relent.
Finding no other way, the son who makes ends meet by doing odd jobs, carried his father on his back, desperately trying to reach the hospital but unfortunately when he finally got there, the doctor pronounced his father dead.
The ailing father Lokka Singh, an asthma patient, was undergoing treatment at a district hospital. There he complained of breathlessness and acute stomach pain after which at about 11:45 AM the decision was made to transfer him to a private hospital. Hence while heading towards Shashtri Chowk, the ambulance got stuck at Judgi crossing.
The son after unsuccessfully pleading with the protesters decided to carry his father, the photo of which has been reported by media websites:
The son reportedly took about an hour to cover the distance to the hospital and his mother Vimala Devi now laments that, her husband could have been alive had the ambulance been allowed to pass.
In a similar tragedy, a child perished in Bihar’s Hajipur after the ambulance carrying him was stuck in a jam while being transferred from Mehnar Primar Healthcare Clinic to Sadar hospital. The child was unable to survive owing to the delay.
When it comes to the violence, curfew has been relaxed in Gwalior’s Maharajganj region, with the situation supposedly being under control. The curfew though still continues to be imposed in four parts of the city. Gwalior was one of the worst affected areas when it came to yesterday’s protests.