Bankrupt Cox and Kings' ex-employee dies of cancer

Kiran Waghmare with wife Surekha and their two children

Kiran Waghmare, the 44-year-old former general manager of bankrupt Cox and Kings, lost his battle to cancer last week. Bereaved, his family says he could have received the "best treatment possible" had the company paid his dues in lakhs.

mid-day had, on September 30, reported about the employees of Cox and Kings who had been struggling since being rendered jobless in September 2019. For Kiran, the grief was not just of losing the job, but also of finding that he had pancreatic cancer in December same year.

Financial struggle

Kiran and his family had spent all their savings on his treatment, sold their jewellery and even surrendered an insurance policy. When they struggled again later, his friends came to support him financially. In the final days of his treatment, the Waghmare family had to borrow money from friends to even fund trips to hospital and medicines.

Leaves behind two kids

Days before his death, his doctors had told the Waghmare family that Kiran does not have too much time. Following which, Kiran with his family went to his wife's hometown Jalgaon, where he passed away on January 30. Speaking to mid-day, his wife Surekha Waghmare said, "If we had the money that the company owes Kiran [Rs 6 lakh-Rs 7 lakh], we could have gotten him the best possible treatment. I have a 5-year-old son and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. I don't know what their future will be like."

Kailas Date, who was the assistant vice president in the same division Kiran worked in, said, "Kiran, his friends and colleagues tried their best, but we failed. Had he received his dues, the situation of his family could have been different. Not just his friends, the whole travel fraternity came forward to help him and raised more than Rs 2 lakh within six days to help him. But all turned futile," he said. When contacted, Urshila Kerkar, director of Cox and Kings, expressed anguish over Kiran's death. "I am deeply saddened to know about his illness. I had written to the Insolvency Professional to release some money for him, but it didn't happen as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) follows rules strictly."

Meanwhile, the company's case is pending with the NCLT and employees will have to wait for at least 12 more months to get their dues. The NCLT had appointed a resolution professional for the company as it defaulted on a loan.

"Unfortunately, none of the potential investors submitted a resolution plan for the company and hence, it has been decided to liquidate the company and the process may generally extend for a maximum of 12 months. Although we are trying to shorten it as much as possible," said Ashutosh Agarwala, the resolution professional.