NHRC notice to govt over apathy towards injured CRPF jawan

The plight of a CRPF personnel, who was injured in a Maoist attack and has been forced to carry his intestine in a polythene bag wrapped around his waist for last four years, has prompted the NHRC on Monday to seek a report from the government.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also warned that such attitude will lower the morale of security personnel.

The NHRC action came following a media report about Manoj Tomar, who has served in the CRPF for 16 years and also in the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) that protected top VIPs of the country.

Taking suo motu action on the report, the NHRC said he has has been "forced to carry his intestine in a polythene bag wrapped around his waist for the last four years" despite running from pillar to post. He has not got the required assistance for the costly treatment.

"He has made several visits to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi but has not been provided proper treatment. He was injured in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district in 2014...Such incidents of alleged negligence on the part of the authorities may lower the morale of the soldiers," an NHRC statement said.

It said if the contents of the news report are true, it amounts to "gross violation" of the right to dignity and medical care of the victim. He survived even after being hit by seven bullets but apparently fell prey to apathy by the administration, it said.

The NHRC has asked the Union home secretary to submit a detailed report within four weeks. It has also sought comments of the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, on the status of Tomar's treatment.

In the attack, Tomar lost vision in one eye and could never recover completely as a portion of his intestine remained outside his stomach.