BHOPAL: In a shocking incident in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district, the wife of a road accident victim was allegedly forced to clean and wash a 108 Ambulance by an ambulance staffer after blood had spilled inside the vehicle.
A few days ago, 30-year-old Rahul Barman was seriously injured in a road accident near Karela village and was rushed to Katni District Hospital in a 108 Ambulance. As his condition worsened, doctors referred him to Jabalpur for further treatment.
During this time, the ambulance staffer, identified as emergency medical technician Mohit Khatik, allegedly forced Rahul’s wife Pramila Barman to clean and wash the ambulance because blood had splattered inside it.
A video of Pramila washing the ambulance went viral, triggering outrage and an official probe. Pramila also alleged that the ambulance staff demanded money to transport her critically injured husband.
“After the video showing the injured man’s wife washing the ambulance went viral, the matter was taken up seriously by the Katni district collector Ashish Tiwari. The district collector constituted a team and got the entire matter investigated. The probe found that the entire incident had actually taken place,” Katni district chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr R Thakur said on Wednesday.
“A notice was subsequently issued by the authorities to JAES Private Limited, Bhopal (which operates the Dial-108 Ambulance services). Further, the concerned ambulance driver Deva Sahu and the EMT Mohit Khatik were dismissed from service with immediate effect,” Dr Thakur added.
Officials said strict action was taken against the two staffers to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in future.
The 108 Emergency Response Service is a free, 24x7 toll-free helpline in the country that provides immediate assistance for medical, police and fire emergencies.