A 78-year-old man allegedly died due to the insensitivity of Chhattisgarh Police and administration officials at the Ghutritola barrier with Madhya Pradesh but officials in Koriya district claimed he breathed his last even before reaching the frontier.
In a video which went viral on social media, South Eastern Coalfield employees Rakesh Mishra and Nilesh Mishra said they were travelling in their car with their parents from Umaria in Madhya Pradesh, a Green zone on the coronavirus pandemic map.
Their father Keshav Mishra, a heart patient, was being taken to Bilaspur for medical treatment. But as he developed breathing problem, they diverted their car to Manendragarh so as to provide him emergency medical assistance at the SECL Hospital.
The brothers alleged that even though Umaria falls in Green zone, civil and police personnel did not allow them to proceed.
The Koriya district administration claimed that the elderly person died before reaching the state barrier.
The Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue) in Manendragarh, R.P. Chouhan, said in a statement that Madhya Pradesh resident Rakesh Mishra was travelling with his father Keshav Mishra and mother to Bilaspur with a vehicle pass.
"Due to a family issue, they wanted to travel from Chirmiri to Korba to Bilaspur. They reached the Ghutritola barrier near Manendragarh."
He said they were permitted to pass through but later Rakesh Mishra reported the death of his father to the administration, which provided an ambulance to take the body to Umaria.
Accusing the Chhattisgarh government of insensitivity, former Minister and BJP leader Rajesh Munat said the state administration is denying permission even to migrant workers of Chhattisgarh to enter the state.
He claimed that the state government is giving political colour over the return of migrant workers instead of considering their case sympathetically.
Some workers returning at midnight are being denied entry, the BJP leader said, adding that even pregnant women and elderly persons are facing the same problem even after holding a pass.