JAGATSINGHPUR: A video of an ambulance driver allegedly consuming alcohol and sharing a peg with a patient in the vehicle on Cuttack-Paradip state highway within Tirtol police limits of the district has gone viral on social media.
The incident reportedly happened on Sunday when the patient was being taken from Paradip to a private hospital in Cuttack for treatment of his fractured leg. However, on being questioned, the driver confessed to have offered liquor to the patient. “The patient asked for a peg of the alcohol and so I gave it to him,” the driver said adding, later he too drank some of it in an isolated place on the highway. The ambulance reportedly had a woman and a child who were also going to the hospital.
While locals demanded strict action against the driver, leader of Mada Mukti Abhiyan Devi Prasad Moharana strongly criticised the police and transport authorities for their negligence in checking such incidents.
“Individuals violating the rules should be imprisoned and penalised. As per section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, anybody found driving or attempting to drive above the permissible limit of alcohol in blood in the body will face up to six months imprisonment or fined Rs 2,000 or both,” he pointed out.
Contacted, regional transport officer Nirmal Kumar Mohanty said the enforcement squad has been pressed into service to put a check on such matters in the future. “The department will take steps to raid such locations and punish the persons who drink and drive,” he added. Tirtol IIC Jugal Kishore Das meanwhile said an investigation into the matter will be launched after receiving a formal complaint.
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