MPHC directs state to air-lift influencer injured in Indore PNG pipeline burst

Karishma.KotwalIndore: The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday directed the state govt to airlift Girirajkumari aka Jini Jhala, a special media influencer and one of the critically injured victims of a PNG pipeline burst in the city two days ago, to Ahmedabad for specialised treatment and bear the entire cost of her medical care.The directive came on a plea expressing anguish over the injured persons allegedly being charged for their ongoing treatment at Indore’s Bombay Hospital.A PNG pipeline burst in the Vijay Nagar area while a water recharging shaft was being dug up by the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on June 23, leaving four people injured. While one escaped with minor injuries, the other three were admitted to Bombay Hospital.Jini happened to be passing by when the ruptured PNG pipeline blew up into a fireball, leaving her and three others grievously injured.The PIL, filed with the division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi, sought a direction to the state govt to bear the treatment cost of all the injured.“The learned counsel for the state is directed to ensure that the injured, Jini Jhala, is airlifted from Indore to Ahmedabad as expeditiously as possible for treatment at Zydus Hospital, Ahmedabad.

In this regard, proper arrangements (are to) be made by the Commissioner, Health Department, Bhopal, Collector, Indore and CMHO, Indore... Needless to say, all the expenses of her treatment shall be borne by the state government,” the division bench ordered.The direction also followed a separate intervention application filed by Jini’s brother, Yashveer Jhala, who informed the court that although she successfully underwent a surgery at Bombay Hospital in Indore, specialised treatment for such extensive burn injuries was available only at the Zydus Hospital in Ahmedabad.After considering the submissions and perusing photographs of the injured victim, the division bench accepted the plea.Earlier during the hearing, the IMC informed the bench that Bombay Hospital had already been instructed not to charge any amount from those injured in the incident, in the wake of concerns over the injured being billed for their treatment.As the HC ordered her Jini to be shifted to the Ahmedabad hospital, she shared a video message from her ICU bed at Bombay Hospital, recounting the terrifying moments after the June 23 gas pipeline rupture and fire.She was heard saying in the video that she pleaded with onlookers to pour water on her before she took a pillion-ride on a bike taxi to the hospital.Jini recalled that she was riding alone to her grandmother’s house when the pipeline burst caused a fire near the Jain temple in Suman Nagar. She alleged that there was no barricading at the site, adding that flames engulfed her and her two-wheeler within seconds.Her first instinct, she said, was to ask for water. “I kept shouting at people to pour water on me, but no one came forward.

Everyone was scared,” she recalled.She said she jumped into a puddle of rainwater on the road, repeatedly splashing herself with it in a desperate bid to ease the burns. It was only after some time that Shyam Borade, another injured, stepped forward and poured two buckets of water over her. By then, her left hand had sustained severe burns.The struggle, however, did not end after the flames were doused.Burnt, shaken and in excruciating pain, Jhala said she pleaded with people around her to take her to a hospital.

“I kept requesting everyone to help me reach a hospital, but nobody was ready. People were afraid,” she recalled.Unable to wait any longer, she stopped a bike taxi rider and took a pillion-ride to the hospital. “He did not even know the way. I kept guiding him in excruciating pain towards the hospital,” she said, adding, “As soon as I reached the hospital, I signalled the doctors to attend to me immediately.”Jini suffered 20-25% burn injuries in the fire. Doctors performed one surgery on her left hand, while three more are planned.

According to her family, two layers of skin on her hand were completely burnt and the third layer was also damaged.The doctors have told the family that her recovery is likely to take three to four months.“This is the first time I’ve ever been admitted to a hospital. I don’t even know if my skin will heal the way it was. My work requires me to be on camera. However, I may not be able to face the camera for some time. I wish the administration would account for risks to regular commuters before carrying out any such work.

Had the victim been an elderly instead of myself, he would never have made it to the hospital. I also lost all my expensive gadgets and my two-wheeler in the fire,” Jhala said in the video.Her fiancé, construction businessman Rajat Pratap Singh, told TOI he was driving to Dehradun when Jhala tried calling him. Unable to answer because he was behind the wheel, he later received calls from other numbers informing him that she was critically injured in the PNG fire.FIR filed against contractorIn a significant development in the PNG pipeline bust case, Vijay Nagar police registered an FIR against the contractor, Rajesh Chachra, and the driver of the boring machine, Sella Muthu, under section 125(a), 125(b), 287 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for acts endangering life and personal safety, negligent conduct with respect to fire, and acts done in furtherance of common intention.The police station in-charge Chandrakant Patel said a letter was sent to the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) seeking details of officials responsible for the work. Based on the response and the investigation, more names will be added to the FIR.