Ambulance driver held for robbing accident victim
LUCKNOW: : A driver of the 108 ambulance service was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stealing cash and jewellery from an accident victim as he battled for life on way to the hospital, informed Banthra police.
Inspector of Banthra police station Ramesh Singh Rawat said the accused was identified as Hardoi resident Gauri Shankar Pal, a contractual driver with the 108 ambulance service. He was arrested on the complaint of Phool Chandra Singh, a resident of Adarsh Nagar colony, Unnao. It is suspected that Pal stole the belongings of injured people in the past also, but no such incident has been reported yet. He was arrested after recovery of a gold chain and some cash stolen from the victim.
The inspector further informed that Pal had stolen gold jewellery, including a chain and four rings worth ₹2 lakh from Jitendra Pratap Singh, who was injured after being hit by a speeding four-wheeler on the bridge over the Sai river while returning to his Unnao residence from Lucknow on the night of September 16. Jitendra was lying unconscious on the road when some passer-by called up the ambulance service to transport him to the hospital.
The victim’s family initially believed that his belongings may have fallen somewhere near the accident site. Later, they realised that he was wearing the jewellery after the mishap when police personnel shared his photograph from the accident site to ascertain his identity.
The victim’s father thereafter lodged an FIR of theft against the ambulance driver on Friday. He said the driver was quizzed over
the allegations and arrested after finding his involvement in the crime. Moreover, the victim’s gold chain has been recovered from his possession while he sold off other items to a jeweller. Efforts are on to recover the remaining belongings, he added.
Meanwhile, state head of 108 ambulance service Kishore Naidu said the involvement of any staff of the ambulance service in any crime would not be tolerated and stern action would be taken against the driver if the police confirmed his involvement in stealing the belongings of the injured victim.