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  India   Karnataka CM’s convoy hampered ambulance, woman dies

Karnataka CM’s convoy hampered ambulance, woman dies

AGE CORRESPONDENT | BENGALURU
Published : Jun 30, 2016, 1:44 am IST
Updated : Jun 30, 2016, 1:44 am IST

A video of an ambulance getting stuck at a traffic junction stopped for the chief minister’s convoy to pass through on a busy highway in Hoskote snowballed into a major controversy on Wednesday after

A video of an ambulance getting stuck at a traffic junction stopped for the chief minister’s convoy to pass through on a busy highway in Hoskote snowballed into a major controversy on Wednesday after the video went viral on social media platforms, picked up by sections of electronic media who slammed the VVIP culture.

The video footage courted controversy as it shows a few unidentified men and motorists pleading with the policemen to let the ambulance pass through, being rebuked by the cops who said they had to let the chief minister’s convoy pass through first. The footage that was uploaded on social media claimed that there was a woman in the ambulance who had a serious ailment and who died due to the delay in reaching the hospital and the man who was pleading to the police was her son, sections of the media and social networking platforms claimed.

The incident reportedly happened on Saturday, June 25 at the Maalur flyover junction in Hoskote at around 9.00 pm when chief minister Siddaramaiah’s convoy was on its way from Chintamani to Bengaluru city.

Inspector general of police (Central Range) Seemant Kumar Singh and superintendent of police (Bengaluru Rural) Amit Singh conducted an inquiry into the incident and rubbished the fact that there was an ailing woman inside the ambulance who died due to delay in reaching the hospital.

“It was true that a 108 ambulance was stuck in the traffic that was stopped for CM’s convoy, but that was only a matter of 2-3 minutes and the patient inside was stable. The ambulance passed through in a matter of minutes after the convoy had passed,” Seemant Kumar Singh told reporters.

According to sources, the Hoskote police had stopped busy traffic on the Kolar-Bengaluru highway at the Malur flyover junction using barricades for the CM’s convoy to pass through. Meanwhile, a 108 ambulance got stuck in the traffic with a patient inside.

Bystanders and motorists were seen pleading with the police to allow the ambulance to pass through. There were several of them taking videos on their mobile phones when the men were pleading with the police. In the video, one of them is even seen pushing the barricade down so that the vehicles can pass through leaving space for the ambulance, but the police pushed them back and put the barricade back in place. Motorists and bystanders at the junction claimed that they were stopped by the police for over 15 to 20 minutes before the CM’s convoy came through. In one of the videos there were motorists seen yelling and shouting at the CM’s convoy in frustration when it passed by.

Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Seemant Kumar Singh and Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural Amit Singh conducted an inquiry into the incident and rubbished the fact that there was an ailing woman inside the ambulance who died due to delay in reaching the hospital. “It was true that a 108 ambulance was stuck in the traffic that was stopped for CM’s convoy, but that was only a matter of 2-3 minutes and the patient inside was stable. The ambulance passed through in a matter of minutes after the convoy had passed,” Seemant Kumar Singh told reporters. “The Narasapura based 108 ambulance was shifting Naveen Kumar, 32, a resident of Kolar from Jallappa Hospital in Kolar to Hosmat Hospital in Bengaluru as per his treating physician’s referral. Naveen was a victim of a road traffic accident that happened the previous night on June 24, and he had suffered head injuries,”Mr. Singh added.