No Justice Yet for a Northeast Boy Who Died in Accident
WHILE WAITING for the final judgment, he passed
away just 22 days before his case could be resolved. He is D. Ng. Kovolou,
who worked in a BPO and met a fateful accident one early dawn in the national
capital, which led to the end of his life.
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| Kovolou |
The Northeast Today visited Kovolou’s
sister, Sunny Paotei (33), and her husband Robinson Paotei (35), at their
rented residence in Safdarjung Enclave, South Delhi, on 25 April 2014. Sunny is
a simple housewife who looks after two little children: a 3-year-old daughter
and a 3-month-old son, while her husband, Robinson Paotei, has been working a
night shift in a BPO in Noida (UP) for the last eight years.
Here is the brief tale of Mr Kovolou according to
his sister, Sunny. It was on the lovely day of 11 September 1979 that he was
born into a humble family of Mr D. Ngaorai and Mrs L. Tholue of Phuba Thapham
village, Senapati district, Manipur, as the youngest among eight siblings – six
girls and one brother (who is unfortunately born deaf and dumb), who had
welcomed him with open arms affectionately. Being the youngest, he was showered
with love right from his birth, they said. When Kovolou was only four years
old, his father passed away in 1983, leaving the family distraught and hapless.
Kovolou grew up with many memories of his father. His siblings made sure that
he got all the love and care throughout his childhood.
He was an intelligent boy from his school days,
and his school teachers would fondly speak of him till today, says Sunny.
Kovolou’s early schooling days began in KT Higher Secondary School, Kangpokpi
(an hour's drive from Imphal), where he studied from Nursery to Class V while
staying in the hostel. He then shifted to Savio School in Tungjoy, Senapati,
where he matriculated in 1996. Blessed with good health, he developed a passion
for sports and actively participated in various extracurricular activities from
his school days. After matriculation, he moved to Bangalore in 1996 to pursue
his pre-university course at Baldwin Boys PU College and successfully graduated
in 1999. His friends from his Bangalore days still speak fondly of him with
love while he was in his sick bed.
In 1999, he came to Delhi to pursue his BA in
English from Jamia Millia Islamia University. His three-year graduation course
was completed with fun and joy. Upon graduating in 2004, he soon joined
Convergys as a Customer Care Officer to support the family, becoming the main
breadwinner in the household.
He joined IBM as a Specialist Care Service in
2005 and was subsequently promoted to Team Leader due to his excellent
performance. In 2009, he joined Mortimer Infotech Pvt Ltd as a Senior Travel
Consultant. Later, in 2010, he joined Touram IT Pvt Ltd as a Sales Executive.
At the time of the fateful accident, he was working at Onkar Infotech Pvt Ltd,
Gurgaon, Haryana, as a Supervisor, which he had joined in 2011. Wherever he
worked, he was praised for his sincerity and honesty. He maintained a cordial
relationship with all his colleagues, and wherever he went, he was admired for
his faithfulness.
On the fateful morning of 15 September 2012,
while travelling in an office cab ‘Tavera Car’ with his colleagues, a Toyota
Innova car recklessly hit their vehicle at Sanjay T-Point, Mahipalpur in South
Delhi at around 4:30 am. Four of his colleagues were also injured, and Kovolou
was critically injured, with his left leg almost completely fractured. He was
rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre, New Delhi, where he received medical treatment
until 2 December 2012.
“His injuries caused him a cent per cent (100%)
disability, and since then, he was lying in bed in a vegetative state. He was
paralyzed due to his injuries. He was merely surviving on Jejunostomy feeding,
a Tracheotomy breathing pipe, Caspofungin and Imipenem injections, with
follow-up care in a confined vegetative state, before he died,” Sunny told The
Northeast Today during the visit to her residence.
From day one, he was in a vegetative state, and
his condition worsened daily following the accident. He was observed in the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of AIIMS Trauma Centre for 15 days and another 14
days in the ICU of AIIMS for Gastro & Ortho Surgery until 2 December 2012,
before being moved to their rented accommodation in Safdarjung Enclave, where
he was looked after with special care by his family members.
On 31 July 2013, Kovolou's condition suddenly
deteriorated and he was brought to AIIMS Emergency. However, the following day,
1 August 2013, he was declared dead at around 2:30 pm. Despite all the enduring
efforts of his sisters and relatives, death could not be averted. His family
members dedicated everything to nurse him back to health, but due to his
extremely critical condition, nothing more could be done. After more than 10
months of struggling to keep him alive, he finally succumbed to eternal sleep,
from which there was no awakening.
The hope of his family turned into despair soon
after the fateful accident. Sunny Paotei shared that they had spent more than
30 lakhs on Kovolou’s medical treatment from that fateful morning until the
last ritual of his death. Over the past years, the financial resources of
Kovolou's family have been exhausted. The family had no alternative source of
income, which created a big headache for them. Eventually, they borrowed Rs 18
lakhs in loan, with an interest rate of 4% per month. But justice for Kovolou’s
family seems a far cry.
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| Condolence Meeting for Kovalou's Passing. |
“Kovolou’s death was an extremely difficult time
for our family. It shocked every heart when the news of his demise spread.
Death is an inevitable fate that all human beings have to face, one day or
another. Life and death are only in God’s hands. He gives, and He takes it
back,” shared Robinson Paotei helplessly.
Kovolou was staying with his sister and
brother-in-law while he was working in a BPO until he met with his tragic
death. He was cared for and looked after by them.
As the youngest son and beloved child in the
family, his parents had sent him to Delhi for higher education, investing a
significant sum of money with great expectations. They hoped that one day he
would look after his ageing mother and also support his six sisters and one
brother.
Ironically, Kovolou’s employer – Onkar Infotech –
refused to give him his salary for the month of September 2012 and other dues
until now. When Sunny approached his employer to enquire about his salary, she
was shockingly told, “He [Kovolou] had left the company.” But he had not left
or resigned from his job when the tragic accident occurred while he was
returning from his night shift work.
Sunny, distraught, wrote a letter to Onkar
Infotech requesting payment for her brother’s salary and other dues, clearly
mentioning that her brother was no longer in a position to talk, write, or
return to work since he was completely (100%) paralyzed. However, her humble
request was turned down. Since the incident, nothing from the employer has been
forthcoming.
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| Sunny & her family. |
Sunny further stated that what was even more
shocking and inhumane was Onkar Infotech’s total negligence towards its own
employee, Mr Kovolou, who met with the accident while on duty. Not only did
Onkar Infotech refuse to pay his salary and other dues, but it also advised
other employees who were injured along with Kovolou to approach the lawyer
hired by the family, claiming the lawyer had been hired by Onkar Infotech. The
next hearing will be held in the District Court, Dwarka, on 3 May 2014.
“My brother Kovolou did not receive any aid from
his office after the accident. We have approached his employer for medical
reimbursement and pending salaries, but they refused to listen to us. Two of
Kovolou’s colleagues, who were also injured during the accident, had already
received their medical reimbursement and pending salaries. This is how they
neglected us,” said Sunny, wiping her tears.
~ Bruce K. Thangkhal
Special Correspondent,
New Delhi
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