'No Aadhaar, no treatment': Kargil martyr's mom dies at hospital

In an instance of how the union government may be going overboard in linking every service to Aadhaar identification, a Kargil martyr's wife died at a private hospital in Haryana's Sonipat after she was allegedly denied treatment for not being able to present her Aadhaar card.

According to her son Pavan Kumar, the woman was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition but not given admission even after Pavan showed her Aadhaar card on his phone.

"I brought my mother in a serious condition to the hospital. They asked me to get the Aadhaar card, but I didn't have it then so I showed them a copy in my phone," he told media.

However, the hospital refused to treat the woman till the original document was furnished.

Kumar added, "I said that I will get Aadhaar in an hour or so, meanwhile begin with the treatment, but the hospital refused to do so."

Pavan claims that the hospital's uncompromising stance on admission is what led to his mother's death.

However, the hospital authorities flatly denied all accusations levelled by the woman's kin saying that Aadhaar is needed only for documentation not for treatment.

A doctor at the hospital said, "We never denied them treatment. Please note that he never got the patient to the hospital. We have never stopped any treatment due to Aadhaar card ever. It is mandatory, not for treatment, but for documentation process."

V N Thapar, father of Kargil martyr Vijayant Thapar, told ANI, "Shocked at the disgusting news. We've become so indifferent to human life! These are the kind of things that hit morale of armed forces."