Sanjha Morcha

AFT: Convene reassessment medical board for veteran

HANDIGARH: The Chandigarh Bench of Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has ordered to conduct reassessment medical board of 1971 war veteran who got injured in Pakistan bombing in the war.

Petitioner Bhag Singh, 72, resident of Mohali, joined the army in 1959 and participated in 1962 war, 1965 war and 1971 war. He was awarded nine medals during his service.

In 1971 war, he suffered injury due to bombing by Pakistan on the Wagah border of Punjab, when bomb shells pierced into his left thigh. He was moved to military hospital, Amritsar, where surgical operation was performed and the petitioner was downgraded to the lower medical category. He was discharged from service on medical grounds and was granted disability pension for two years, from August 1, 1974, to May 15, 1976, for 20% disability.

Bhag Singh was brought before the resurvey medical board in the year 1976, which declared the disability of the petitioner having improved to between 11 % to 14 %. As a result his disability element of pension was stopped.

Later, he developed pain and swelling in his left thigh in the year 1981 and remained under medical treatment for about six years when he was referred to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, by Command Hospital, Chandimandir. The PGIMER authorities extracted number of embedded bomb shell pieces from his thigh during the surgical operations in 1987.

Since then, he made a number of representations to the defence authorities for war injury pension, but in vain.

Bhim Sen Sehgal, chairman of All Indian Ex-servicemen Welfare Association (AIEWA), who appeared on behalf of Bhag Singh, said Bhag Singh had been fighting for over 40 years and now the AFT had given a ray of hope by ordering director general, Armed Forces Medical Services, New Delhi, to convene a reassessment medical board.