Poisoned food given to Mukhtar Ansari, denied requisite treatment: Umar Ansari to SC
New Delhi, Jul 15: Late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's son on Monday alleged before the Supreme Court that the food given to his father was "poisoned" and he was denied the requisite medical treatment due to which he died in custody.
On March 28, Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar constituency, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Banda in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti was hearing a plea filed in 2023 by Umar Ansari, son of Mukhtar Ansari, raising the issue of safety and security of his father within the Banda jail premises where he was lodged.
"All we can say is, what we feared, has happened," senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Umar Ansari, told the bench.
"We can't bring him back Mr Sibal. You know that very well," the bench observed, adding that the petitioner had anticipated an encounter like situation.
Arguing that some enquiry should be conducted in the matter, Sibal said "human beings in this country can't be treated like this".
He said they have filed an application seeking to amend the prayer made in the plea.
The bench, which issued notice on the application, told Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, who was appearing for Uttar Pradesh, that he can file his response to it.
It granted four weeks time to Nataraj to file a response.
Sibal told the bench that the petitioner has alleged that food given to his father was poisoned.
The bench noted the petitioner's submission that Mukhtar Ansari was denied requisite medical treatment in the prison which led to his death in custody.
While hearing the plea on January 16, the apex court had directed the state authorities to continue with the all the security arrangements to ensure that Mukhtar Ansari was fully protected from any security breach and consequences.
Umar Ansari had moved the apex court seeking a direction to transfer Mukhtar Ansari to any prison outside Uttar Pradesh, saying he apprehended "imminent and serious threat" to his life.
The plea said several attempts had been made on the life of Mukhtar Ansari by those inimical to him in view of his political affiliations and he had already been attacked five times in the past.
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Govt notifies cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims nationwide
New Delhi (PTI): Road accident victims all over India will be entitled for cashless treatment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh for the first seven days at designated hospitals, said a notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued on Tuesday.
According to a gazette notification, the (Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025) scheme has come into force with effect from May 5, 2025.
The scheme is aimed at reducing the number of deaths arising from road accidents every year due to delay in timely medical intervention.
"Any person being a victim of a road accident arising out of the use of a motor vehicle, occurring on any road, shall be entitled to cashless treatment in accordance with the provisions of this scheme," the notification said.
The National Health Authority (NHA) shall be the implementing agency for the programme, in coordination with police, hospitals and State Health Agencies etc.
"The victim shall be entitled to cashless treatment at any designated hospital for an amount up to one lakh fifty thousand rupees per victim for a maximum period of seven days from the date of such accident," it added.
According to the notification, the treatment under this scheme at a hospital, other than a designated hospital, shall be for stabilisation purposes only and shall be as specified by the guidelines.
As per the notification, the State Road Safety Council shall be the nodal agency for implementation of the scheme for that state or Union Territory and would be responsible for coordinating with the National Health Authority for adoption and utilisation of the portal for onboarding of designated hospitals, treatment of victims, payment to the designated hospital on treatment and related matters.
The government has also set up an 11-member steering committee under the road secretary to monitor the implementation of the scheme.
The committee will comprise CEO of National Health Authority, and additional secretary of MoRTH as members.
On March 14, 2024, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had launched a pilot programme in Chandigarh which was later expanded to six states to provide cashless treatment to road accident victims.
Recently, Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari had said that there were 4.80 lakh road accidents in 2023, resulting in 1.72 lakh deaths.
