Kerala doctor blocks ambulance transporting critical patient, Fined Rs 5000

Kannur: A case has been registered against a doctor in Kerala's Kannur district for allegedly obstructing an ambulance carrying a critically ill patient to a hospital, police said on Saturday. The doctor was also fined Rs 5,000 following a complaint lodged by the ambulance driver.

The incident was alleged to have happened at Eranholi in Thalassery on Thursday evening and its visuals were telecast by television channels later.

According to police, a car obstructed the passage of an ambulance when it was proceeding with a critical patient on Nayanar Road here. Police identified the driver of the car as Rahul Raj, a doctor who runs a private clinic in nearby Iritty, news agency PTI reported.

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The ambulance driver alleged that despite repeated sirens, the car driver didn't give space for the ambulance to proceed. Based on his complaint, Kathirur police registered a case against the doctor under various sections of the BNS including for blocking the path and obstructing the emergency vehicle, a police officer said.

According to the PTI report, the Motor Vehicle Department also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for the same charges, the officer said. The doctor, however, claimed that he got panicked on hearing the siren of the ambulance and he gave space for it to proceed as soon as it was possible for him, sources said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that as per the law, drivers must yield to ambulances transporting patients by pulling over when they hear a siren. However, a man from Thrissur, Kerala, ignored this rule and refused to make way for an ambulance. As a result, he was fined Rs 2.5 lakh, and the Kerala Police revoked his driving license for obstructing the emergency vehicle. 

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