BENGALURU: Police on Thursday arrested an ambulance driver and his accomplice on charges of extortion, amid the pandemic. They allegedly demanded Rs 60,000 from a woman to ferry her father's body to the crematorium. The duo has been booked under the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA), as well as other sections of the IPC.
According to DCP- North East, R K Baba, the incident occurred on April 20, when 29-year-old Bhavya's father, Prasad (57), succumbed to Covid-19 in a private hospital.
She wanted to take the body to a crematorium in Peenya and called an ambulance. Hamumantappa Singri, owner of Jai Hanuman Ambulance, and his accomplice Harish, who arrived at the hospital, demanded Rs 60,000 to carry out the job.
Bhavya reportedly pleaded with them, stating that she did not have that much money, barring her mangalsutra, and requested them to lower the amount.
The duo refused and said they would just abandon the body on the road if the sum was not handed over.
The woman then dialled '100' and a policeman reached on the spot. Sensing trouble, they negotiated with her and agreed to carry out the job for Rs 16,000. Bhavya paid the sum and got her father cremated.
On Thursday morning, Amruthahalli police tracked down both men involved in the incident and arrested them, and their ambulance was also seized.
Baba told TNIE, "We took immediate action and held them. Everyone needs to display some humanitarianism in these times. This should serve as a warning to other ambulance owners and drivers not to exploit people when they are passing through such terrible tragedies. "
Instances of a few ambulance drivers in Bengaluru demanding huge sums to transport bodies even for very short distances have been surfacing on social media the last week.