Nagpur, Sep 30 (IANS) A man has threatened to burn himself to death in front of a government office if no action is taken against those responsible for his son’s death. His 23-year-old son died earlier this month after running for 12 km in a physical fitness test for a guard’s job.
On Sep 13, Balaji Tirmanwar did not receive treatment for more than three hours after collapsing. No medical treatment or ambulance facility was provided by the forest department which conducted the test for guard’s posts.
Speaking to IANS, Narsingrao Tirmanwar, the grief-stricken father, said: ‘I have registered a complaint with the Wadgaon police station and held all forest officials responsible for the death of my son.’
‘If action is not initiated against those guilty in the next 8-10 days, I will immolate myself in front of the tensil office,’ he added.
The Maharashtra forest department recently announced 1,175 guard jobs. It was flooded with over a lakh applications. The physical fitness test required men to run for 25 km and women 14 km.
Of the 9,500 aspirants who appeared for 85 posts in Yavatmal division on Sep 12-13, many collapsed during the test. Eight had to be admitted in hospital.
‘What is more disturbing is that people other than the forest officials carried my son to the hospital. The forest officials were not even bothered,’ Narsingrao said.
‘Moreover, what almost killed me was that the hospital officials said they could have saved my son if he was brought to the hospital an hour earlier,’ he added.
Narsingrao, 55, belongs to a small village named Mandavi in the Zari-Jamni tehsil of Yavatmal and lives with his wife Indira. His daughter Rasika is married and settled in an Andhra Pradesh village.
Yavatmal district forests officials had, however, said that it was wrong to blame the department and that all applicants had signed undertakings that they will run at their own risk.
Police Inspector S. Gaikwad of the Wadgaon police station told IANS that they have registered Narsingrao’s complaint and are investigating the case.
