KANPUR: President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind on Saturday expressed heartfelt condolences over the death of a 50-year-old ailing woman, who died allegedly after the car carrying her to a hospital was stopped at the Govindpuri railway flyover due to traffic clampdown in view of the VVIP’s visit to the city on Friday.
The victim, Vandana Mishra, was president of women’s wing of the Indian Industries Association (IIA), Kanpur Chapter and a resident of K-Block, Kidwainagar, and had complained of uneasiness post Covid treatment on Friday evening.
District and Police officials met Vandana Mishra’s family members and apologised and conveyed President Kovind condolence messageHer family members were taking her to a private hospital in Sarvodaya Nagar in a car, but were stranded at Govindpuri Railway Flyover as the the President’s special train was scheduled to pass that way.
They alleged that they pleaded with the policemen deployed at the bridge, but to no avail.
The car could finally move only after the special train passed through the flyover.
However, by then it was too late for Vandana, who was declared dead by the doctors on reaching the hospital.
Meanwhile, President Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind expressed their heartfelt condolences over the demise of IIA women’s wing chief following the unfortunate incident.
The President’s wife has instructed the senior administrative and police officials that such a situation should not occur in future again.
Subsequently, city police commissioner Asim Kumar Arun, DCP South Raveena Tyagi and DCP Traffic BBGTS Murthy, visited the house of the entrepreneur in Kidwai Nagar with the condolence message of the President and his wife and tendered an apology to her family members on Saturday morning.
Arun tweeted, “On behalf of Kanpur Police and myself, I am deeply sorry about the demise of Vandana Mishra.
This is a big lesson for the future.
We pledge our ‘route’ system will be such that citizens are held up for the shortest possible time so such incidents are not repeated.” Another tweet said President Kovind was disturbed by the incident.
“He (the President) called the police commissioner and the district magistrate and enquired about the incident.
He asked officials to personally convey his condolences to the family,” the police said.
Additional DCP Kanpur South has been asked to carry out an inquiry, and a sub- inspector, Sushil Kumar, and three constables have been suspended over the incident.
Murthy, meanwhile, said that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
“It would be probed whether the family members of the victim had apprised about medical emergency to the policemen on duty and they did not let them proceed further,” he said.
There is a clear instruction of the Commissioner that if there is any medical emergency somewhere, then immediately the patient has to be removed from the traffic and sent forward, he said.
DCP Traffic further said, “Traffic was stopped on Govindpuri railway flyover for some time.
As per the Blue Book, the President has a protocol.
Under the same, when the train passes through the rail tracks under the bridge, the vehicle has to stop for a minute or two.
If the traffic was stopped there, people would have been trapped.” Vandana Mishra had also been an office-bearer of the Indian Council of Women Entrepreneurs.
She had a Covid infection a month and a half ago.
She recovered and tested negative but as far as her health is concerned, as per her family members, she became quite weak.
For the past few days, she complained of anxiety and vomiting.
On Friday morning, her husband Sharad Mishra took her to the private hospital.
After undergoing some tests, she came back home.
In the evening, she again complained of uneasiness.
The family members soon left with her for a private hospital, but they got stuck in the traffic restrictions.
The last rites of the Vandana Mishra were performed at a city ghat on Saturday.
DM Alok Tiwari, police commissioner and DCP South attended the cremation ceremony at Bhairavghat.
Later, the DM met her family members, including her husband Sharad Mishra, and expressed his condolences and assured them efforts would be made to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
President Kovind, on a five-day visit to the state, had arrived in Kanpur on Friday evening (June 25) by a special presidential train.
On June 27, he will visit his native village Paraunkh, besides Pukhrayan in Kanpur Dehat.
On June 28, he will visit the state capital before returning back to the national capital on June 29.
Woman entrepreneur trapped in VVIP traffic curb dies in Kanpur
