Did Dr Singh's convoy lead to man's death?

A 46-year-old man has died of a heart attack in New Delhi because he could not be rushed to hospital due to traffic blockade for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's movement, his family claimed on Monday prompting the Prime Minister's Officer to seek a report from the Delhi police.

Anil Jain's family claimed that he could get medical treatment in time due to roads being blocked to facilitate passage of PM's convoy. Jain died in an ambulance near Rajghat when he was being taken to a hospital at around 7:30 pm on Sunday.

The PMO has asked for a report from the Delhi police and other concerned authorities, officials said.

Jain's son Deepak alleged that they were stuck in a traffic jam near Rajghat after traffic movement was stopped for the PM's cavalcade to pass through. "We called up the police control room. They did not help us. They kept asking us where we are. Had we not got stuck in the jam for 15-20 minutes, my father could have been saved," said Deepak. The family resides in Shahdara in east Delhi.

Jain suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was reportedly turned away from two hospitals where doctors told them they were not equipped to treat Anil. "We were on way to another hospital when we got stuck in the traffic jam," Deepak said.

Admitting that traffic was blocked for ten minutes at Rajghat for the movement of the cavalcade, police said they would investigate the matter. "We will look into the matter," a senior police official said.

 This is the third such incident in the past one year. In July this year, parents of eight-year-old Aman Khan blamed the PM's security arrangements for their son's demise. They alleged that Aman died as they could not take him to a hospital due to roadblocks set up during Dr Singh's visit to Kanpur.

In November last year, a 32-year-old man died at the gate of a hospital in Chandigarh. His family alleged that security for PM's visit hindered his access to timely medical treatment.