Andhra man forced to carry son's body on bike; 4 ambulance drivers booked, medical officer suspended

Tirupati: After a man was forced to carry the body of his deceased son on his lap to his native village from Tirupati around midnight when a mob of ambulance drivers demanded an amount of Rs 10,000 for the trip, four private ambulance drivers have been booked and the Resident Medical Officer of the hospital was suspended.    

The Resident Medical Officer of the Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital (GGH) in Tirupati where the child had passed away, was suspended by the Minister for Health, Family Welfare, and Medical Education Vidadala Rajini on Tuesday. The hospital superintendent was also given a show-cause notice. 

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As per a media report in the News Minute, an inquiry into the incident was conducted by the Tirupati District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) along with the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) at the Sri Venkateswara Ramnarayan (SVR) Ruia Government General Hospital. A government statement noted, "The involved ambulances were private ambulances. Criminal cases have been booked against four private ambulance drivers so far." Further, a committee has been set up to finalize the private ambulance rates which would be displayed all across. 

A farm labourer hailing from Chitveli village in Annamayya district admitted his 10-year-old son for treatment following an illness. The boy died late on Monday night due to renal failure. The labourer sought to engage an ambulance to shift his son's body to their village. The ambulance drivers demanded Rs 10,000 for the trip. Unable to bear the sum, the person called his relatives for help, who then sent another ambulance from their village.

When the ambulance reached the hospital, the local ambulance drivers allegedly beat up the other driver and chased him away. Left with no option, the farm labourer carried the body on his lap, riding pillion on a bike.

The father took his son on his lap, riding a pillion on a bike, covering a distance of around 90 km to his village. Not stopping at that, the ambulance drivers at the Ruia Hospital in Tirupati did not allow another ambulance sent by the man's relatives to carry the body. They also are reported to have blocked the entrance of vehicles hired from outside, thereby not allowing the family to take an ambulance that they could afford, reports the News Minute. The Ruia ambulance drivers beat up the other ambulance driver and chased him away, forcing the man to carry his son's body on the bike. 

After the videos of the incident went viral on social media, the police were directed to identify the ambulance drivers, who regularly run riot at the hospital, and book criminal cases against them. Tirupati district collector Venkata Ramana Reddy constituted a three-member official committee to inquire into the incident. The state government formed a team with Tirupati RDO Kanaka Narasa Reddy, DMHO Srihari and Tirupati East DSP Murali Krishna to investigate the incident, reports the New Indian Express.

The committee, headed by the local revenue divisional officer, prima facie established the atrocious acts of the Ruia ambulance drivers. The officials said they have so far identified four rogue drivers who were allegedly involved in the incident.

The Alipiri police have registered a case against three ambulance drivers under Section 341, 323, 506 (34) of the IPC following which they were arrested. 

Reacting to the Tirupati incident, state Health Minister V. Rajini said an inquiry has been ordered to establish whether the hospital staff or private persons were involved in it. Taking a serious view of the inhuman incident, the minister said stern action would be initiated against the guilty and none would be spared. She said steps would be taken to control private ambulance services at government hospitals.

Further, the minister added that the government would take appropriate measures to ensure that the Mahaprasthanam vehicles (free hearse van service provided by the government) work at night time as well. The superintendent told the media that the drivers of these vehicles are at the moment only required to work till 10 pm, due to which they do not take up long journeys after 8 pm.  The minister said that the government would also examine the possibility of introducing pre-paid taxis for carrying bodies. 

The CITU district president K Murali told TNIE, "The district administration has failed to eradicate the ambulance mafia at Ruia Hospital. Despite repeated incidents of excesses by the ambulance mafia, no strong mechanism has been put in place to curb the menace. The prices for ambulance services should be reasonable."

Patients having serious medical conditions are often brought to Ruia Hospital in Tirupati from the Kadapa, Nellore, Anantapur, and Chittoor districts. However, the Mahaprasthanam vehicle allotted to the hospital for the purposes of shifting the bodies were not being used.

The Tirupati RDO Kanaka Narasa Reddy said, "We will submit a report on operation of the Mahaprasthanam vehicle to the Ruia Hospital authorities to prevent recurrence of this kind of incidents. Steps will be taken to offer ambulance services at reasonable prices and the excesses of local operators will be curbed."

The opposition parties hit out strongly at the Jagan Mohan Reddy government over the Ruia incident. The incident held a mirror to the pathetic state of healthcare in AP, Telugu Desam Party chief and Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu said in a statement.

"This is a gross failure of the government. That a person was forced to carry the body of his deceased son on a bike was heinous," Naidu said. Local TDP and BJP leaders staged a protest outside the hospital here and demanded effective steps to set things right.

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