Health dept. to investigate death of road accident victim, AAP blames death on BJP for scrapping Farishtey Scheme

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were at odds on Thursday over the death of a 26-year-old man recently in a road accident.

Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the BJP government has “more comprehensive schemes”, after AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged scrapping of the “Farishte Dilli ke“ scheme led to the death of the man after four hospitals refused treatment.

The scheme provided free medical treatment to road accident victims in private hospitals.

Mr. Bharadwaj said, “He [the victim] was first taken to the nearby Spinal Injury Centre, where he was not treated. He was then taken to Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, where he received no further treatment. After that, he was taken to Prima Super Speciality Hospital, but he still did not receive treatment. Finally, he was taken to the government-run Safdarjung Hospital, where he died.”

Following AAP’s allegations, Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh told The Hindu, “We have much more comprehensive health schemes to ensure the well-being of Delhi’s citizens. However, we are investigating the incident, and if the hospitals are at fault, we will take action against them.” 

In April, the Supreme Court said that States must work on swift response protocols for road accident victims. Following this, the Centre notified a cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims nationwide. 

Mr. Bharadwaj, however, attributed the death to the BJP government scrapping the Farishtey Scheme. He said, “Under this [Farishtey] scheme, if anyone met with an accident on Delhi’s roads, they were admitted to the nearest private hospital and treated, with the entire cost covered by the Delhi government. This scheme saved hundreds of lives. But it is a matter of great shame that the BJP government currently in power in Delhi has shut down this life-saving scheme.”