Man fakes death to return home in ambulance in Poonch, held
JAMMU: Stranded in Jammu and desperate to reach home near Poonch, a man faked his own death to avail of an ambulance that would have dropped him at his village but the plan came unstuck near the destination about 250 km away, police said Wednesday.
Three others who also had to travel hatched the plan to show Hakim Din as “dead”, managed to get an ambulance and its driver Abid Hussain, obtained a fake order form the government medical college and hospital in Jammu for the ‘body’s’ passage before the police nabbed them at a check post in Surankote on Tuesday.
The “dead” man and his three associates hailed from Sailan village of Surankote while ambulance driver Abid Hussain belonged to Rajouri.
The accused, with the help of a nursing orderly, procured a fake death certificate that carried seal of the casualty medical officer of the government medical college and hospital and his forged signature. “Dead body shifted from GMC hospital to Baflaiz Saillan. In between the crisis of “Corona virus”, nobody could not disturb them (sic),” read the order issued on the letterhead of medical records department of GMC hospital.
The letter also mentioned the name of the ambulance driver as Abid Hussain and ambulance’s number (PB 02 CQ-6663) carrying the “dead” man to his native village.
“The ambulance was close to its destination when a police team intercepted it at a check post and found the ‘dead man’ alive. The driver was immediately arrested and a case under FIR number 45/2020 under sections 188, 269, 420, 109 of the IPC has been registered against all of them at Surankote police station,” said Ramesh Kumar Angral, SSP of Poonch.
The driver was arrested and then quarantined along with the other four men.
Station House Officer of
Surankote, Anil Sharma said that the ambulance belonged to a doctor in Rajouri, who has three more ambulances.
Sharma said that there have been reports of ambulances being used to ferry people from Jammu to Poonch during the lockdown and passenger were being charged Rs 7,500 per trip.
Medical superintendent of government medical college and hospital in Jammu, Dr Dara Singh said, “Hospital authorities have also initiated probe. A nursing orderly Noor Alam used the stamp and letter head of the casualty medical officer. He also hails from Rajouri. Police have been informed and action under law will be initiated against him”.