Even emotional appeals of the mother of the child to the police and party workers on Wednesday to let the ambulance pass as the boy needed urgent medical attention fell on deaf ears. The sick boy, identified as Dinesh, was being brought from Sarkahat Ghat in Mandi district, about 100 km from the state capital but the ambulance despite its blaring siren could not proceed as the road was blocked by the protesters. The police was busy dealing with the protesters.
Dinesh’s father alighted and took him in his arms and ran towards the district hospital for about 500 metres in the midst of the parallel rallies held by the ruling Congress and opposition BJP in front of the Vidhan Sabha. Dinesh is the only son of his parents. The boy running high temperature and suffering from diarrhoea died on the way to the hospital. Doctors at the hospital said the boy was brought brain dead and said he could have been saved had he been brought 15 minutes earlier adding to the agony of the inconsolable parents.
The  Himachal Pradesh government ordered a probe into the death of the boy and use of force by police following the clashes in which senior BJP leaders Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal were injured.The inquiry is to be held by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Southern range) R L Sood, state parliamentary affairs minister Kaul Singh Thakur told reporters.
The probe report is to be submitted in a fortnight.
The death triggered a blame game with the Congress and the BJP trading charges. Thakur squarely blamed the BJP for the tragedy alleging that the ambulance was not allowed to pass through the BJP rally. “The inquiry will unravel the truth,” he said.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also blamed the saffron party for the tragedy. Singh announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the parents of the dead boy.
BJP leader P K Dhumal instead said the Congress should be blamed saying it was the responsibility of the administration and police to ensure that the ambulance was given the right of way.